Customer Reviews

Southern Winds

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Southern Winds by W. Everett Beal (who I believe to be in his 70s) is one Southern gentleman's experience growing up and living in the south. Beal begins his journey with the arrival of his ancestors from Scotland and continues with his immediate family in Valdosta, Georgia and then moves on as an adult to Griffin, Georgia.

Beal honestly and courageously discusses the good and the bad of the south and of the heritage he acquired through being born "Southern." That heritage included segregation, integration and all of the issues surrounding the change that descended upon his world in the 1960s.

There are moments Beal lovingly recalls his boyhood adventures, the cultural songs and games, as well as the love and respect he felt for the black men and women who cared for his family and their property. However, other times the experience of integration, though acknowledged as right, was confusing and perceived as allowing no time to accept the change. What had always been accepted as "the way it was done" was no longer acceptable or appropriate.

This is an interesting and personal view of a culture that is closed to those who have not been born into it. The treatment of black people-thought acceptable, even seen as benevolent by white folks-is at times painful to read. The difficulty of change can be seen as the author continually refers to black people as "coloreds." I didn't feel that he was using the term in a derogatory manner (though others might perceive it to be so), I just felt that that is the way it always has been. Beal writes about the way things are when most people only have the courage to think it. Anyone wanting a first-hand account of Southern life in turbulent times should read Southern Winds.

Southern Winds is a delicious personal account, of Mr. Everett Beal, a southern pharmacist, growing up in the racially divided south during the time of integration. This book tugs at all your emotions. I urge you to take a nostalgic journey into the deep south, where you will laugh with Mr. Beal as he tells the story of the runaway coffin, cry with him as he witnesses the devastation of local businesses in this time of racial unrest, be proud of him for the stand he takes in defending his pharmacy as riots break out in town around him, and most of all admire him for having the courage to speak out about the injustices visited upon himself personally in the days gone by. If you listen closely and remain very still, you can almost hear his soft southern drawl narrating as you turn the pages. Mint Julep anyone?

As a northerner, I found Everett Beal's account of life in the south in a time when it seemed that nothing would ever be the same again completely captivating. His up-close-and-personal account of such issues as black/white relations and possible uprisings, when he had to "hide out" at the pharmacy where he worked were open and honest. It was a real eye-opener to someone who never experienced these things except from afar.
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a real picture of this era. It was not only informative, but filled with Mr. Beal's wit and humor, as well as his sensitivity.

This book was a refreshing look into the past during a time when slavery was still about and romance and war were part of life. This honest book sparks some controversy that some slaves were well cared for and some white folk weren't as bad as history makes them out to be. Writing this great novel, Southern Winds, that takes place during the time where the winds of change began to take place.
I would recommend this book to anyone at all really.

I grew up in the same time era as did the author Everett Beal. I feel he has told the story of many southern "children" who grew up in a changing world that they did not make only found themselves a part of. I can still remember the horror I felt a s a little girl when the bus was stopped and a black lady with a white child was made to go the the back of the bus. I very well remember separate bathrooms and separate water fountains. I am glad that world changed. Certainly our memories are important in todays society and should be preserved and told. Wish I had his gift of telling the story.

Southern Winds, the poignant literary debut of W. Everett Beal, is written with personal warmth and compassion, fairness and truth. This author's collection of memoirs takes a unique look at cultural changes that took place in the South during integration, along with establishing a strong sense of time and place. He not only takes you on a journey through these turbulent times from a white man's point of view, he stresses the importance of love and understanding between all races. Southern Winds is a "must read" for anyone who lived through those stressful times, and especially for those who didn't.

W. Everett Beal was born and raised in Valdosta, Georgia, eventually moving to Griffin, Georgia to practice pharmacy, and then retiring with his wife Judy to Sky Valley for 16 years only to return once again to Griffin. Man and boy, Everett Beal was a southerner. Southern Winds is both his autobiography and his eyewitness account of the deluge of changes that were to transform the segregated and impoverished state of Georgia into what was to become known as the "New South". Here is a compilation of stories, good and bad, of the early days of integration and a profile of just how hard it was for many to give up their family and community tradition enforced prejudices and customs. Southern Winds is a personal testament to the redeeming necessity to ignore and overcome ingrained prejudices, and to strive for common unity, love and respect, simply and honest compassion. That we must judge people by their character and personality, not by the color of their skin. Exceptionally well written, Southern Winds is very strongly recommended reading.

The winds of social change blew through the American South at a time that to my generation seems like yesterday - but to U.S. children growing up now, it must surely seem as distant as the Civil War does to me. When those winds reached the community where he owned and ran an independent pharmacy, W. Everett Beal found himself forced to nap behind his counter each night with a loaded weapon at his side. That was the only way he could hope to protect his painfully built business from being firebombed or otherwise destroyed.

As a lifelong resident of "the whitest state in the Union," whose contacts with members of other races have never been like those of native-born Southerners, I found this memoir a fascinating read. Ever since I've known people of color (which didn't happen until I was a young adult), I've interacted with them as equals. College classmates, colleagues at professional conventions, next door neighbors, fellow parishioners at my church. One of my own books lists my very black former pastor in its acknowledgements, for his kindness and helpfulness during more than one life crisis. So, while Mr. Beal's book is by no means entirely about race relations (past or present), his comments on that theme - the experience of being a Southern man during a turbulent and dangerous era - truly intrigued and enlightened me.

However, that's only part of why I can recommend "Southern Winds" to my fellow readers who enjoy a well-written memoir. Mr. Beal's years as a columnist shine through his reminiscences of boyhood and young manhood. He knows how to tell a story, and he's included a very suitable mix of humorous, sad, and thought-provoking anecdotes in this, his first book. His stated goal is to share with his readers the culture that shaped him, and he has managed to do exactly that.

This is a truly a book written from the heart, with touching honesty. Whether or not you agree with everything Mr. Beal has to say, you will be richer for reading his words and coming to know the characters who have peopled his life. I certainly am!

This is a book I highly recommend for those who are interested in United States history, specifically Georgia history. It is the true account of a southern gentleman confronted with the social changes brought about by integration in the south. The author is a registered pharmacist who owns his own drug store in Griffin, Georgia. Since segregation was always a part of his life while growing up in Valdosta, Georgia, the uprisings and often violent attacks on his drug store came as a surprise to him. Definitely worth reading.