THE LITTLE WAY OF RUTHIE LEMING A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life

The author's kind voice, lacking polish but always understandable, is essential to the enormous appeal of this thoughtful memoir. With his conversational delivery full of warmth and equanimity, the Philadelphia journalist charts how he decided to move back to the tiny town of his youth after seeing how that community responded to his younger sister's grave illness. Dreher's complicated feelings toward Ruthie and a variety of townspeople serve as a backdrop for the author's exploration of two issues: the oppression of small town life as compared to the lifelines it provides and the search for an identity that expresses one's intellectual inclinations but includes loving relationships with those are not so inclined. It's a memorable and easy-to-hear lesson on learning what's true in important relationships. T.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2014]