When we started swapping stories with each other, we realized our stories are poignant enough, interesting enough, and funny enough to share with others. That is how this book got started and ultimately came to fruition. Oddly, we are really very different in many aspects of our lives. Suellen grew up in East Tennessee where she grew to love the mountains. Joyce grew up in West Tennessee where she loved the flat land and the Mississippi River. And now here we are living in Middle Tennessee where we have discovered the one thing we have in common is a keen sense of humor, and the grace to know a good story when we find one.  With all the media that swirl around us, iPads, URL’s, iPhones, and who knows what other kinds of technology that has not yet been invented, the act of sharing a story orally with another human being, or in a room full of human beings is as old as language itself. Perhaps we are drawn to the human voice because it is one of the first things we hear in our mother’s womb. It seems that we are built for hearing that voice with pleasant tones that rise and fall with expression. It is our first introduction to another person sometimes telling us what it means to be human Storytellers use their voices and their bodies to create sounds and images in the minds of their listeners. Every storyteller has a personal way of telling a story so that it takes on the personal characteristics of that teller. Other people may tell the same story, but their tone of voice, their facial expressions, even the use of their hands will re-invent the story for the listener. Storytelling is more than entertainment. It is a way to transport listeners not only into a world of fantasy, but also into a world of sorrow, humor, beauty, or history. Storytelling is a way of bringing people together, to laugh, to cry, to become outraged, to learn personal history, and to think. And it can begin simply with the words, “I remember when.”

From the Mountains to the River : Mostly True Stories Worth the Tellin'

Suellen Alfred

Joyce Tatum

Parsons Porch Books

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Books by Suellen Alfred

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Suellen Alfred. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

From the Mountains to the River : Mostly True Stories Worth the Tellin'