Customer Reviews

Aunt Arie: A Foxfire Portrait

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From the cover:, " The students, none of whom had ever been to Aunt Arie's before, were awed, drawn inexorably into the little circle of activity that surrounded this 5' 6" dynamo who laughed and pecked on each of them and tapped their shoulders and grasped their knees and tried to remember their names and loved them, instantly, and without reservation-strangers all". This book is wonder full, and heart full, and shines a little light into a way of being that is fast becoming a just catchy phrase on a hall mark card.

WHAT A GREAT "AMERICANA" STYLE BOOK, FANTASTIC ADDITION TO A FOXFIRE COLLECTION OR GREAT ON ITS OWN. AUNT ARIE HERSELF, HER OWN STYLE FROM COOKING TO HARVESTING, THOGUHTS, RELIGION AND HER FEELINGS ABOUT LIVING ALONE! SHE WAS AN HONORABLE WOMAN!

I recently purchased 'Aunt Arie: A Foxfire Portrait,' along with two Foxfire guides, to assist me in establishing an Appalachian setting (and characters)for a story I am working on. I've only skimmed the guides at this point, but I haven't put "Aunt Arie" down! I've still got a couple of chapters left to read, but so far the story of this woman's life, as told by her to the folks at Foxfire, has proven indispensable to my research.

The editors of the book have attempted, most successfully (they offer an explanation of ways and means at the beginning of the book)I think, to reproduce/preserve Aunt Arie's dialect and colloquialisms, as transcribed from the hundreds of hours of taped interviews. In this book, HOW she says things is just as important as WHAT she's saying...and what does she say? Where do I begin? Besides offering a virtual treasure-trove of information on the subjects of gardening, healing, economy, and food storage and preparation, she also delves into stories of her friends and neighbors, living and dead, speaks often of her life with her beloved husband, and before that her childhood, and all her talk of the people she's known, whether she loved them or could have done without them, is tinged with her faith, her basic love of and respect for humanity, and her simply ideology: you get what you give.

If any of the above appeals to you, get this book. You won't regret it. I'm back here b/c I'm about to get one for my grandmother. Just thought I'd leave a more complete review than the ones I'd seen.

Reading this book was like stepping back in time, to my childhood. My greatgrandmother was about the same age as Aunt Arie, and lived a very similar life. I come from a good stock of Appalachian people, living in Sevier and Cock Counties. Her speech pattern, and dialect were true to the way "we used to talk." The explaination from the author as to how they tried to spell out the way of speech was very nearly perfect.

I could not put the book down. It took me back to many a day, at my grandmothers house in Sevierville Tn. Listening to the old ladies talk and tell stories of what it was like living in the mountains, when they were young women. How the men folk behaved. If a person was 'good to you' or not, declared his or her character. The medicinal herb/weed lore, the cooking in a fireplace and later on, a woodstove. The water well and the out house. The garden tending, animal managing, church going, activities that filled Aunt Arie's life so full.

They could have been sisters. It touched me deep in my mountain girl heart and will be a book that I use for my own grandchildren some day, to relate to them, what it was like to grow up in the mountains, how hard it must have been, the simple pleasures cold spring water, a baked sweet potatoe and a pot of soup beans could bring. The greatful attitude and loving heart of Aunt Arie. She belongs to me now, a little bit. She has made me stand on the end of the porch and watch my own loved ones as they leave and keep watching until I can no longer hear or see them as my own beloved Grandmother did each and everytime we left her home. Thank you Aunt Arie! Like the students in the FoxFire program - I will not forget you.

terrific read - inspirational - one tough and lovable character who will be missed for many years to come