Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On – a Book Review

I was born and raised in Florida. I am a true Florida Cracker or Native, though I did leave the state in 1985 to move to Tennessee. Throughout all my schooling I’d been told that Florida was not only geographically part of the southern states of the nation, I had been led to believe that Florida actually seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, behind only South Carolina and Mississippi. Imagine my surprise when people in Tennessee began telling me I was not a Southerner!

When I first “met” Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, host of the All Things Southern radio show,  it was because of a person from a New England state showing utter disrespect for Southerners, just because. Somehow the bond between us was fast and tight. Earlier this year, Shellie and her friend River Jordan decided to go on a whirlwind, budget-savvy book tour to market their respective books, Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color on | What Southern Mamas Tell their Daughters that the Rest of Y’all Should Know Too (Shellie’s) and Saints in Limbo (River’s). I happened to see that they were trying to line up places to stay while on the road, so I just did the Southern thing and opened our home to them.

That’s when I got a copy of Shellie’s book. It has taken a couple months for me to actually sit down and read it, though. I purchased the book because I thought surely I’d be able to learn some of the things that would actually make me quintessentially Southern, since I apparently wasn’t by birth.

I was so disappointed!

No. Not in the book. The writing is easy and laid back. You feel as if you’re sitting on the front porch having a lovely afternoon chat with the author as she shares her about her Southern Mama with amazing wit and wisdom. The stories are mesmerizing and often funny. I literally found myself laughing out loud numerous times.

My disappointment was that I didn’t learn anything new! As she wrote this book, Shellie asked her “Porchers,” her radio and blog audience to assist her by sharing things that their Southern Mamas had told them through the years.  She placed these throughout the book in little boxes. While the stories Shellie shared were different than my own, I had little trouble recognizing my own family’s DNA, which Shellie defines as “Duly-Noted Abnormalities”. And the “Southern Mama-isms” might have varied in wording slightly, but were words that continue to echo in my head from my own childhood.

Throughout this book the reader will learn about members of Shellie’s family and their eccentricities. They will learn about grace and wisdom as a part of everyday life. They will also learn of faith interwoven into every fiber of life and how it’s lived out and passed down through generations.

I would recommend this book to anyone, whether from the North or South, whether you’re a Belle Wannabe or just want to read a good book, it’s worth both the money and the time. Besides, you might find out that you’re actually Southern, too — no matter what someone else says.

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