Graceland, At Last Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South

Praise for Graceland, At Last

"[Graceland, At Last] is Renkl at her most tender and most fierce . . . Renkl's gift, just as it was in her first book Late Migrations, is to make fascinating for others what is closest to her heart . . . What rises in me after reading her essays is [John] Lewis' famous urging to get in good trouble to make the world fairer and better. Many people in the South are doing just that-and through her beautiful writing, Renkl is among them." -NPR

"In this luminous collection, Margaret Renkl delivers smart, beautifully crafted personal and political observations . . . I keep this book nearby to revisit the humanity and hope in its pages." -Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Amazing and inspiring. [Graceland, At Last] will help you figure out concrete things you can do to save the planet." -Ann Patchett

"Reading the short essays in this book has strengthened my understanding and love for the South, its people, its land, and its complexities. I especially have enjoyed reading Renkl's thoughtful reflections on flora and fauna, and I find myself looking to my changing backyard this fall with a new appreciation." -Garden & Gun

"[Renkl] doesn't shy from hard topics but explores them with the careful hand of someone whose heart yearns for healing, growth, and understanding for the region she loves. A must read for those who live and love the South!" -Country Living

"Readers can easily home in on one of the book's wide-ranging six sections, sample an essay or two from each, or barrel through from start to finish, as whim dictates. Renkl's voice is calm, steady and sometimes surprising . . . She celebrates a host of new voices in southern writing and sees in their world the light of justice and hope for the South." -Booklist

"From her home in Nashville-'a blue dot in the red sea of Tennessee'-[Renkl] writes perceptively of the region where she was born and raised (in Alabama), educated (in South Carolina), and settled . . . Renkl vividly evokes the lush natural beauty of the rivers, old-growth forests, 'red-dirt pineywoods,' marshes, and coastal plains that she deeply loves . . . A wide-ranging look at the realities of the South." - Kirkus Reviews

"If you've happened upon the poignant and off-road opinion pieces Renkl writes as a contributor to The New York Times, you already know that the natural world is something she closely observes and uses as a springboard to contemplate other, less tangible subjects. . . . Her life story and her life's passion intertwine, like a fence post and a trumpet vine." -Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air