Up from the Deep South

When Thais "Grace" Roberson is born in the mid-1930s in a small town in southern Mississippi, a world of rattlesnakes and fragrant honeysuckle, her family is on the cusp of the middle class. But a move into the country to build their own home soon brings difficulty. There is no running water or electricity for the Roberson's growing family, and when a fire destroys the house they've put everything into, the family of six moves into the back of a gas station, where they sleep on the floor and black widow spiders lurk in the outhouse. They attempt once more to build a home, but job loss forces her parents to move again, deeper into rural Mississippi. Grace is left to negotiate adolescence, including episodes of bullying and sexual assault, on her own, with occasional help from her sister Willene. But there are also lighter moments—Gene Autrey and Tarzan movies to watch at the theater, and biscuits and bacon breakfasts on Saturday mornings when Dad is not away preaching in another town. In understated but lyrical detail, Barry shares the story of an ordinary girl and her family surviving and ultimately triumphing in the face of unemployment, crushing physical labor, illness and loss, while WWII rages in the backdrop. Her unforgettable tale is one of grit in the face of adversity, but also one of human imperfection and frailty, and the power of education to change lives.

When Thais "Grace" Roberson is born in the mid-1930s in a small town in southern Mississippi, a world of rattlesnakes and fragrant honeysuckle, her family is on the cusp of the middle class. But a move into the country to build their own home soon brings difficulty. There is no running water or electricity for the Roberson's growing family, and when a fire destroys the house they've put everything into, the family of six moves into the back of a gas station, where they sleep on the floor and black widow spiders lurk in the outhouse. They attempt once more to build a home, but job loss forces her parents to move again, deeper into rural Mississippi. Grace is left to negotiate adolescence, including episodes of bullying and sexual assault, on her own, with occasional help from her sister Willene. But there are also lighter moments—Gene Autrey and Tarzan movies to watch at the theater, and biscuits and bacon breakfasts on Saturday mornings when Dad is not away preaching in another town. In understated but lyrical detail, Barry shares the story of an ordinary girl and her family surviving and ultimately triumphing in the face of unemployment, crushing physical labor, illness and loss, while WWII rages in the backdrop. Her unforgettable tale is one of grit in the face of adversity, but also one of human imperfection and frailty, and the power of education to change lives.

Thais Grace Barry was born in Stone County, Mississippi, and attended Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she majored in dance. She has taught dance at the City University of New York, Barnard College, and Teachers College, Columbia University, and holds a Master of Arts and Doctorate of Education from Teachers College, where she was the head of the Dance Education Program for eighteen years. A long-time member of the Tamiris-Nagrin Dance Company, she currently lives in New York City.