Amy's Extraordinary Alabama: The Most They Ever Had

By Amy

If you've read some of my previous posts you know my love of Rick Bragg's writing.

His latest book The Most They Ever Had doesn't disappoint. Having written about his family in 3 of his past 4 books, with this book Bragg shares stories of the mill workers in Jacksonville, Alabama. He shares of the sacrifices the mill workers and their families and does it in his trademark storytelling way.

Having grown up on the outskirts of Jacksonville myself I remember the mill, but I never realized what life was like for those hard working people who kept it running, especially those who worked their in the years before my birth, before the safety measures. My dad worked for a time at the mill Bragg writes about when he as 16 years old. Others of my family members worked in the mills in neighboring Piedmont for many years. I currently live in a mill town and have seen how the decline of manufacturing has effected our town. My father-in-law who once worked at a mill here in an executive position always remembered who really made the mills run. As he once told me, "I've never sewn a shirt."

So if you're a fan of Rick Bragg don't miss The Most They Ever Had and hopefully you will come away with a new appreciation and understanding of the lives of those who were called mill people.