This new release was one of the nice presents Hubby brought back from the US for me and I couldn’t wait to read it, especially after skimming the blurb.
The term “redneck” is a very strong slur in the US, especially in the Midwest and I’ve always been mystified by what it means, even though my American colleagues tried their best to explain it to me, albeit in politically-correct terms.
In summary, it refers to the poorer whites (cruelly known as “white trash”) who live in the rural areas e.g. the characters from the old sitcom the “Beverly Hillbillies”.
Teen marriages, domestic violence, moonshine, “wife beater” shirts (red, long-sleeved, plaid shirts), chewing tobacco and incest are frequently associated with this group, other than poverty and trailer parks.
Gretchen Wilson
, one of America’s top country singers, tells her own tale about first, being a “redneck” and second, being a woman in this maligned community. She recalls the story of her life with Allen Rucker, her co-author, but succeeds in keeping the tone of the book as brutally honest as she sets it out to be.
I really enjoyed reading this autobiography and was very curious about WHEN Gretchen would actually get her moment in time in Nashville.
Growing up in the tiny town of Pocahontas, Illinois, she has an endless string of bad beginnings:
she was born to a 16 year old Mom;
her father left her family when she was 2;
her mum married an abusive stepfather;
her stepfather was a conman, which resulted in her family having to move all over the place;
she and her stepbrother being the “new kids” in school 100s of times;
her grandfather was an alcoholic, stingy racist and the list goes on…
Just one-third into the Redneck Woman
, I can imagine how hard and bitter she and her stepbrother would have become by the time they reached their teens. As she’s only 1 year older than me, I’m surprised they hadn’t made the headlines earlier for a school shooting or another form of violent crime!
The saving grace is Gretchen’s grandmother, Frances, who is a thrifty, kind, animal & plant-loving woman even though she married and lived with the most horrible man imaginable on earth.
I almost shed tears when I read the part about Grandma Frances’ simple “wishlist”, one of which is to have a cleaning lady come just ONCE to clear their house. Not once a month or once a week - just one time.
Even so, Gretchen couldn’t take the madness of moving to avoid her stepfather’s angry clients that she dropped out of high school at 15. She worked as a waitress and a bartender and would have stuck to the common 2-job life of a “redneck woman” if not for her talent for singing.
Her belief in herself kept her bartending for money, pulled her through alcoholism and held her through a long plateau of small gigs before she actually struck gold in Nashville, the Hollywood for country music.
A true creative, she accepted any singing assignments she was given, regardless of the genre as long as she could sing - this proved really useful as she achieved amazing control over her voice. Be it the blues, country, pop or rock, she could sing it!
I rejoiced in her success when she finally got her first contract and also shared her sadness when Grandma Frances died before Gretchen made it big. I sense her sincerity and understand her desires in wanting to be the best mother and to give the best to her own daughter, Grace.
Similarly, I can appreciate the fact that she also wants Grace to know her humbled roots and this Gretchen succeeds by inviting her family members to be part of her success.
Also, despite rolling in riches now, she maintains her old lifestyle of cleaning up at her own little home and also allows her kin to continue with the “country” ways they are used to.
I was quite inspired after reading about Gretchen and as she says so at the beginning (adding also that she doesn’t mean to belittle the redneck way of life), she hopes that her life story will inspire any woman or “redneck woman” out there who thinks that she’s stuck with a bad deal in her life.
This book is a refreshing, informative perspective on the concept of being a “redneck”. At times I would have wanted more details about the life of a bartender or the hardships of rural America but I have to remember that this is, after all, Gretchen’s autobiography.
Buy the book:
The only pop culture I can recall revolving around the “redneck” theme are:
“A Painted House” by John Grisham (the book) and
“A Painted House” by John Grisham (the movie)
“The Baby Dance” - a Hallmark movie starring Stockard Channing & Laura Dern
Any other good books I should be checking out on this theme?
Redneck Woman: Stories from my life by Gretchen Wilson & Allen Rucker
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(ISBN: 978-0446401234)
Tags: Redneck
Comments(2) 
