Ava's Man

Rick Bragg’s obsession with a grandfather he ever knew was fascinating. This was a man who lived during the Great Depression. He didn’t wear clothes with holes in them because that was popular, he did it because those were the only clothes he owned. It unveiled the ability of an ordinary man to do extraordinary things, an impressive accomplishment.

Rick Bragg heard of his grandfather all his life, a man of the Great Depression with seven children, and a knack for beating bad luck time and time again. Ava’s Man chronicles his mother’s upbringing by a father who struggled with alcohol, a man despite his faults, who took care of his own, a time when having something meant that you ate that day. 

Rick Bragg excels at narrative non-fiction, and with his incredible sense of place, understanding of the culture and of the people, he shows those unfamiliar with the area what it means to be Southern. While his… show more.