Rick Bragg reads his intense memoir, "All Over but the Shoutin'" and you hear a lot more than a southern accent. You hear anger, toughness that comes from knowing true hardship, overwhelming love and tenderness for his mother and something that reflects the "well worn chip" he still carries on his shoulder. "This is not an important book," Bragg says. "It is only the story of a strong woman, a tortured man and three sons who lived hemmed in by thin cotton and sorry history in northeastern Alabama, in a time when blacks and whites found reason to hate each other and a whole lot of people could not stand themselves." But it is an important story, as it's told by the author who got out, got successful, won a Pulitzer Prize, writes for "The New York Times" and now wants to tell us who he really is, where he came from and, most of all, how his mother's faith and love and real sacrifice made it possible.
Sukey Howard reports on spoken word audio each month. Don't miss her audio book reviews on CNN's "Sunday Morning."
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