THE SHOEBOX: Growing up with America in the Babyboom South//STEPHANIE DEBRY: A Book Review

Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? Just as the cover of THE SHOEBOX: Growing up with America in the Baby-boom South, by Stephanie Debry, depicts an image of five by no means fancy white children standing in the front yard of a lower middle class neighborhood in deep south Georgia, (actually, the authors own family photo), The Shoebox offers a very authentic and realistic account of what life was like for the children of poor white families growing up in the Atlanta, Georgia suburbs of the 1950s and 60s.

Stephanie Debry's description of a deep south Georgia family makes no apologies for being Christian, Southern, or poor, yet offers a lovable and entertaining diversion from the far right and far left stereotypes so commonly believed about the Caucasian residents of the deep south during those years. Her characters are round and believable, with both positive and negative attributes, indicating the wholeness of the human condition without the need for either a conservative or progressive agenda.

Perhaps what I cherish so dearly about the memoir is the truth of the writing, as it relates to the realities of the times, not attempting to write from today's perspective, but instead from the fabric of time during which the story is set. The memoir is true to the sentiments of those years, rather than judging them through the lens of today's view.

How do I know so well the truth of the story? As the author's younger sister, I also lived the story and can attest to its authenticity. THE SHOEBOX is truly a must read for anyone interested in the baby-boom segment of history in the deep south, or in those middle and working class Americans who grew and thrived there.