by Pat Conroy
First published 2016
Pat Conroy addresses his readers one last time with his familiar "Hey, out there" greeting in this collection of his final nonfiction pieces. The Southern author gathers interviews, magazine articles, speeches, and personal letters from throughout his career, sharing thoughts on his recent favorite books, his struggles with exercise motivation, and his grief over losing close friends. Conroy writes directly to his audience with the same warmth that made him beloved across the American South. His widow, novelist Cassandra King, provides an introduction to the collection. Friends contribute their own remembrances of "The Great Conroy," offering intimate glimpses of the man behind the novels. The book closes with a eulogy, creating a complete portrait of Conroy's life and literary influence. These pieces reveal the personal side of one of contemporary American literature's most celebrated Southern voices.
Genres: american-fiction, american, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: American South
Period: Contemporary
320 pages · Hardcover · Knopf Doubleday