Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 1,710 ratings

Price: 13.78

Last update: 02-24-2025


About this item

From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All over but the Shoutin' and The Best Cook in the World, a collection of his irresistible columns from Southern Living and Garden & Gun.

Celebrated author and newspaper columnist Rick Bragg brings us an ode to the stories and history of the Deep South, filled with “eclectic nuggets about places and people he knows well” (USA Today) and written with honesty, wit, and deep affection.

A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns — from Bragg’s love of Tupperware (his mother preferred margarine tubs and thought Tupperware was “just showing off”) to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck to the best way to kill fire ants — Where I Come From is a book that will be treasured by fans old and new.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Kathleen Kalichak
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is absolutely awesome! One of my favorite all time books ever!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2025
    I absolutely loved this book! I am born and raised in Alabama and am close to the same age as Rick Bragg! He is my favorite author! I am purchasing a copy for my sister for her birthday!
  • Tenor
    5.0 out of 5 stars A mystery and love story
    Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2024
    This book was hard to put down. I found myself wanting to continue it because it was so exciting and so mysterious. The characters were vividly painted, and you wanted to know what happened to each of them.
  • B'sMom
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must for your bookshelf of Southern writers
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
    I've been reading Rick Bragg since I was a teenager, and I still look forward to every new release now at 30. His early works always reminded me of a mix between Ecology of a Cracker Childhood and Angela's Ashes- they were written in the same spirit, anyhow. This particular book will be familiar to you if you read the back pages of Southern Living, but it also has some new (to me, anyway) musings and I personally like having a collection of his short stories. Who wants to keep a stack of magazines? I have to admit, he's the only reason I have the subscription, and the same holds true with Garden & Gun's Roy Blount Jr. (Check him out if you like Rick Bragg, too.)
    Bragg stands out in the world of Southern writing, as he comes the people I relate to- the ones with the drawl, not the accent. The ones who have worn the clay as a uniform and have cookouts and picnics with paper plates, not dinner parties under magnolias with serviceware from Crate and Barrel. If you ever lingered in a Waffle House late at night because the truck driver at the counter reeled you in with his stories, then this is the story teller for you. And when it comes to whether or not Rick Bragg will ever retire from writing in his lifetime, I stand by what one of those Waffle House truckers had to say when asked if he was going to make it after a coughing fit: "God, I hope not."
  • Gaston Hebert
    4.0 out of 5 stars One of the South's finest authors
    Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2021
    I have read about all of Rick Bragg's books. His style is easy and unaffected. To say he has "a way with words" is an understatement. Reading his books is like conversing with a smart, witty Southern man who values his past and his loved ones. The only drawback with this particular book is the brevity of the chapters; he just gets "rolling" on a subject and it's over. It is obviously a compilation of essays from previous publication. All of his works pull at my heart strings, and as I empathize with so many of his experiences, I often shed a tear and reflect with gratitude on the way I was reared. The author has a beautiful heart and a keen sense of humor; he shares both generously.
  • sugar magnolia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rick Bragg is my favorite author
    Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2024
    Happy to find this compilation of Southern Living stories. He takes me right into the story with him. I adore every book he's penned and now have them all. He is a true American treasure.
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great book of stories of our beloved South!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024
    Bragg makes the story come live with his words. I can smell the cornbread, taste the gumbo, feel the hot wind.
  • J. Tucker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021
    I love Rick Bragg's writing, and this was just the icing on the cake for me! I met him several years ago at a Southern Writer's Festival, and found him to be humble, genial and kind-hardly what I was expecting for a writer of his acclaim and talent. Reading his work is like removing your shoes at the end of a long day, and feeling finally comfortable and at home. He makes one think, laugh and cry-sometimes within the same sentence! He is truly a Southern treasure of note. Oh, and he reveres his wonderful mother-one could ask for nothing more. Read and enjoy!
  • Joni Johnson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Look forward to more
    Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2024
    Love this author

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