Womenfolks, growing up down South

In Womenfolks, Shirley Abbott combines captivating memoir and regional history in a generous tribute to the true mothers and daughters of the South, the gritty, independent women of the backwoods. Theirs is a hardscrabble world of red dirt and backbreaking chores and roof-raising revival meetings - a far cry from the magnolias and mint juleps of Gone with the Wind.

As honest, vibrant, and remarkable as the women whose stories illuminate these pages, Womenfolks draws a vivid portrait of a rural culture beset by poverty and sustained by deeply rooted traditions. In a new introduction, Abbott revisits this world to discover that the uniqueness of the culture has, against all odds, endured.