Growing Up Grits : A Memoir of a Girl Raised in the South offers an in-depth look at the childhood experiences of a young girl growing up in a large family in the deep South. The author shares her first-hand personal and practical knowledge in hopes that it will not only paint a historical picture of life on the farm during this period of time but also to garner a spirit of thankfulness for the lessons learned and the love shared.
Day-to-day activities depicted in the book allow the reader the opportunity to understand farm life from planting to harvesting and livelihood as we knew it in the South at a changing time. Crops were raised to provide income for the family as a means of survival. In addition, some crops were produced for family consumption. Fruits and vegetable, domestic animals, and even hunting wild game and fishing played an integral part in supplying food for the household.Strong family and religious foundations needed to not only survive, but to thrive, during turbulent and changing times are explored. Respect for the sacrifices made by our forefathers and honor for the love and discipline they showed are permeated throughout the book.
Many of the family stories chronicled provide an intimate capsule look at relationships, faith, character, discipline, encouragement, and direction. In the midst of all the hard labor and impoverished conditions, a lot of precious memories were made - AND a lot of funny things happened on the way to growing up.