Memoirs : Reading Suggestions from the BDC

The Library chose to highlight "Memoirs" for June, a genre that I have featured in more than one Connections post through the years. Yet I shall revisit the genre once more to indicate the BDC's willingness to comply with the Library system's marketing schedule. 

A "memoir" is defined as "a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge," "a narrative composed from personal experience," or in the plural "memoirs" often to indicate a form of autobiography. The authors usually are trying to advance their perspective on events or a series of events across some stretch of time in which they were participants. As you will discover, the BDC contains a broad range of memoirs to share with you. Here are about 25 titles to get you started exploring the lives of others with Beaufort District connections : 

Against the Tide : One Woman's Political Struggle by Harriet Hirschfeld Keyserling (2004, 1998) details her family life with Dr. Herbert Keyserling and their four children. The book explains her transition from a liberal-minded Jewish housewife to an eight term South Carolina legislator beginning at age 54. Her particular interests were funding for the arts and environmental issues.

Average Expectations: Lessons in Lowering the Bar by Shep Rose (2021) was a somewhat reluctant purchase because I am not a fan of "reality TV". However the collection development policy says that I should buy items penned by Beaufort County residents who spent their "growing up years" within the County. Thus, Shep Rose qualifies with "this witty and engaging collection of essays from the charismatic star of Southern Charm [who] offers rip-roaring stories and tongue-in-cheek advice on everything from relationships to travel to 'woke' culture and beyond." Plus I sincerely think that a few years from now, the BDC might be one of the few libraries still holding this title. The copy in the local history section at Hilton Head Branch has circulated more than 20 times. The BDC also has a vertical file of clippings about Rose in the Research Room. 

Before the Bridge : A Memoir of Hilton Head Island by Kay Sconyers Moore (2015) was a white teenage on the island in the early 1950s who was a resident before and after Charles Fraser's vision led to the creation of the island as we know it today. 

A Black Woman’s Civil War Memoirs: Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, Late 1st South Carolina Volunteers by Susie King Taylor (1988) served as an educator and a nurse for the 33rd United States Colored Troops. She was born enslaved but freed at the age of fourteen. Later in life, Taylor became the first African American woman to write and publish a memoir about her experiences throughout the Civil War. The BDC has printed copies of her memoirs in two forms: Reminiscences of My Life in Camp, 1968 and A Black Woman's Civil War Memoirs, edited by Patricia W. Romero with a new introduction by Willie Lee Rose.

Daufuskie Daze : Living, Learning, and Teaching on a South Carolina Sea Island by Jim Alberto (2019) covers what it was like for him to be Pat Conroy's teaching successor at the Mary Field Elementary School in 1974. 

Daughter of the Dawn : A Child of Hilton Head Island, 1950-1956 by Avary Hack Doubleday (2019) captures what it was like for her to live on then remote Hilton Head Island that had no electric or telephone service, and one paved road as a white child who attended a one room school with an outhouse. Paradise : Memories of Hilton Head in the early days by Nelle and Ora Smith (2018) covers their remembrances as one of the first White families on the island brought by Charles Fraser's vision for Sea Pines Plantation in the 1960s. 

Doctor K by Herbert Keyserling (1999) is the physician's memoir about his family, his life as a Navy doctor during World War II and his life in Beaufort, SC as a country doctor from 1940s.

Downrange at Gardez: Forward Operating Base Lightning by Gerald L. Wynn (2024) shares his experiences as a Sergeant First Class in Afghanistan. A native Beaufortonian, Wynn walks the reader through his deployment from October 2007 to May 2008 and expresses gratitude for the support he received from the home front while he was serving overseas.

Fight like a Girl : The Truth Behind How Female Marines are Trained by Kate Germano (2018) is critical of the Marine Corps. The blurb says "This is the story of [Lt. Col.] Germano's struggle to achieve equality of performance and opportunity for female Marines against an entrenched male-dominated status quo.... [she] charges that the men above her in the chain of command were too invested in perpetuating the subordinate role of women in the Corps to allow her to prove that the female Marine can be equal to her male counterpart." Her last duty station was the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island. Other memoirs about their time spent on Parris Island are: Parris Island Daze : My Drill Instructor was Tougher than Yours by Robert E. Shirley (2006); Ringside at Parris Island : Four Months in the Marine Corps, Served with Spice and Humor by Lee Reynolds (2002); Rows of Corn : A True Account of a Parris Island Recruit by Herb Moore (1983); See Parris and Die : Brutality in the U.S. Marines by H. Paul Jeffers (1971); and This Recruit : A Firsthand Account of Marine Corps Boot Camp, Written While Knee-Deep in the Mayhem of Parris Island by Kieran Michael Lalor (2010).

A Fire-Eater Remembers : The Confederate Memoir of Robert Barnwell Rhett edited by William C. Davis (2000) looks at the secession crisis and the formation of the Confederacy as seen through the eyes of the man some call the Father of Secession. Like Rhett himself, the writings are opinionated, contentious, arrogant, and unforgiving. They reveal much of Rhett's inside view of the effort to separate from the Union, and they depict his participation in the founding of the Confederacy. 

Growing up on the Combahee River: An American Story by Charlotte Murray Taylor (2023) is a very personal memoir of a Black girl who was raised near the river after her young mother died shortly after giving birth. Murray Taylor grew up in the upper reaches of rural Beaufort County on Hobonny and Sugar Hill plantations. She shares reminiscences of her daily life until she went away to college. One of our bookmobiles and the BDC are the only libraries currently holding copies of this self-published work.

Growing up in Paradise : Beaufort : Reflections from Living on The Point for 94 Years by Therese Sams Colquhoun (2024). "Ting" describes her life in the Lowcountry from river baptisms to peep shows, and parties to World War II. This self-published 44 booklet is a "Uniquely BDC" title.

Gullah Days : Hilton Head Islanders before the Bridge, 1861-1956 by Thomas Barnwell, Emory Campbell, Carolyn Grant and Christena Bledsoe (2020), shares remembrances of native Islanders Barnwell, Campbell, and Grant from the perspective of Blacks before and after large-scale real estate development on the island. 

Lest You Forget by Wesley B. Glover, Jr. recounts his life and times from his perspective as a Black male growing up on St. Helena Island. He shares tales of a warm family, his military service, and finding his calling as a schoolteacher. The BDC and the Allendale-Hampton-Jasper Regional Library have copies to share.

Life on St. Helena Island by Isabella C. Glen (1980) is a short assemblage of Glen’s experiences growing up on St. Helena with all of her good, bad, and supernatural encounters on the island. Only units of the Beaufort County Library have this title within the SCLENDS consortium.

Little Geech by H.H. Von Harten, Jr. (2011) offers his reflections on the local seafood industry. "Bubba," went into business with his brother and father when he returned as a Korean War veteran. He established Von Harten Seafood on Lady's island in 1965 and Capt. Geech's seafood restaurant. This book provides insight into Von Harten's life and adventures shrimping and beyond. 

Love's Sea Island Song by Marquetta Goodwine (2013) begins with memoirs of her roots on Polowana, St. Helena and Dataw Islands, through her early years, her enstoolment as Queen Quet, Chieftess and Head-of-State for the Gullah/Geechee Nation, and her journey of representing her people in the United Nations. Goodwine has authored numerous books on Gullah/Geechee history and has co-authored a novella. She begins her memoir with The BCL and the State Library have copies of her book but only the BDC has a copy of the audio book narrated by the author herself. 

Memoirs of the American Revolution by [Patriot General] William Moultrie was first published in 1802 in two volumes. It contains personal anecdotes, first-hand observations, and an extensive collection of letters between civil and military officers, including some about the battles of Port Royal Island and Purisburgh, the spiking of the guns at Fort Lyttelton, and the occupation of Beaufort by the British. There's a lot about what's going on in other parts of the lowcountry too. In addition to our Research Room copy, you can borrow the title from other members libraries in the SCLENDS consortium. Or you can access a digital copy of the original texts through Archive.org.

Memoirs of the Prodigal Son : The Road to Redemption : Fifteen Years in Prison and Beyond (2008) by John C. Dortch is "An inspirational saga of one man's spiritual odyssey... An epic tale of his Christian upbringing, his fall from grace, his quest for redemption and ultimately his spiritual resurrection. A powerful message of hope and triumph through obedient faith in the word of God." No other SCLENDS library make this title available. 

Memories of "The Bay Street Boy -- In His Own Words" by Joseph W. Lipsitz (2004) shares his life's story and how his family came to own and operate the Lipsitz Department store for more than a century. He even includes a paragraph or two about Lippy, the Mynah bird that his wife, Lucille, had won in a drawing. The booklet was printed in very limited quantities, so I remain grateful that Miss Lucille gave us one for permanent retention here in the Research Room. During the early 20th into mid-1970s there were a number of Jewish owned businesses along Bay Street. 

My Memoirs by Julian S. Levin (2015) was dictated in his final year of life for his family and friends. He begins with the family histories of his Jewish grandparents, what Beaufort was like in the 1920s and 1930s when he was boy, his military service in the US Navy during World War II, and his post-war law practice. The BDC got a copy because his widow, Miss Renee, was kind enough to give us one for permanent retention.  

Never Too Late by Rosalie F. Pazant (1992) shares her life experiences and accomplishments as a Gullah woman in order to inspire others to achieve a desired goal. Pazant was a teacher, education administrator, and president & co-founder of the Gullah Festival, a project that has received national and international attention. 

The Other Mother by Teresa Bruce is an award-winning memoir of her life and relationship with Byrne Miller, dance teacher and arts mentor extraordinaire. It is a story of a transformative friendship between a TV reporter and a former burlesque dancer and pioneer in the dance world who was 40 years her senior.

Pat Conroy : Our Lifelong Friendship by Bernie Schein (2019) is the story of a relationship forged in a high school pick-up basketball and a shared identity as outsiders in a Bible-belt military infused small town. Bernie Schein was born, bred, and Bar Mitzvahed in Beaufort, South Carolina. Pat Conroy was a Marine Corps brat who had moved around a lot with his fighter pilot father. Together they shared a complex friendship.

A Place Called Home by Elizabeth B. Later and "Sonny" Bishop (2013) captures her father's reminiscences of life on Yard Farm (formerly a Fuller Plantation) on St. Helena Island. His firsthand accounts of Hurricane Gracie and Lowcountry life growing up paint a portrait of a quieter, more peaceful time before widescale development in Beaufort County. 

Seventh Son on Sacred Ground by Roger Pinckney (2006) shares memories of his life as a seventh generation Lowcountry native in his inimitable style. 

 

Songs to Sing, Stories to Tell : Growing Up Gullah by Eva Smalls Segar (2004). One volume about what it was like to grow up a Gullah on a small farm in Northern Beaufort County during the 20th century was not enough so she wrote More Songs to Sing ... in 2005. 

Tell Me A Story : My Life with Pat Conroy by Cassandra King Conroy (2019) pays homage of her life with her one of the best and best-selling authors of Southern literature from 1995 until his death in March 2016.

With Open Arms: The Robert Middleton Story by Robert Middleton (2007) recounts Middleton's search for his biological parents, his adoption into a warm and loving family on St. Helena Island, and his belief in God's plan for his life. The Beaufort County Library is the only library to have copies of this local memoir to share with the SCLENDS consortium.   

There are plenty more to explore in the Research Room and through the circulating collections of the SCLENDS consortium.