Southern Discomfort

‘Where I grew up, girls like me knew our place ... we understood that stepping off the prescribed path in any way meant risking it all, and probably losing.’

On the outside, Tena Clark’s childhood in rural Mississippi in the 1960s looked like a fairytale. Her father was one of the richest men in the state; her mother was a beauty. The family lived on a sprawling farm and had the only swimming pool in town. Tena was given her first car – a navy blue Camaro – at twelve.

Behind closed doors, her parents’ marriage was a swamp of alcohol, rampant infidelity and guns. Adding to the turmoil, Tena understood from a very young age that she was different from her three older sisters, all beauty queens and majorettes. She didn’t want to be a majorette – she wanted to marry one.

On Tena’s tenth birthday, her mother walked out on her father for good and Tena was left in the care of her black nanny, Virgie, who became Tena’s surrogate mother and confidante – even though she was raising nine of her own children.

It was Virgie’s acceptance and unconditional love that gave Tena the courage to stand up to her domineering father, the faith to believe in her mother’s love, and the strength to challenge the bigotry that defined her world and be her true self.


PRAISE FOR SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT 

‘Tena Clark is a pioneering force of nature, and her story is as powerful, riveting and inspiring as she is.’ Maria Shriver 

‘A brave, wildly engrossing memoir.’ Bill Clegg, author of Did You Ever Have a Family

‘It’s easy to see how this book has been compared to The Help. But Clark’s debut is an entirely original – and true – story.’ Kirkus Reviews