Heaven Is a Beautiful Place

Heaven Is a Beautiful Place

A Memoir of the South Carolina Coast

  • Author: Peterkin, Genevieve C.; Brockington, Lee G.; Baldwin, William P.
  • Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
  • ISBN: 9781611175233
  • eISBN Pdf: 9781611175240
  • eISBN Epub: 9781611175240
  • Place of publication:  South Carolina , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2015
  • Month: March
  • DDC: 975.7/87043/092
  • Language: English

Born in 1928 in the small coastal town of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, Genevieve "Sister" Peterkin grew up with World War II bombing practice in her front yard, deep-sea fishing expeditions, and youthful rambles through the lowcountry. She shared her bedroom with a famous ghost and an impatient older sister. But most of all she listened. She absorbed the tales of her talented mother and her beloved friend, listened to the stories of the region's older residents, some of them former slaves, who were her friends, neighbors, and teachers.

In this new edition she once again shares with readers her insider's knowledge of the lowcountry plantations, gardens, and beaches that today draw so many visitors. Beneath the humor, hauntings, and treasures of local history, she tells another, deeper story—one that deals with the struggle for racial equality in the South, with the sometimes painful adventures of marriage and parenthood, and with inner struggles for faith and acceptance. This edition includes a new foreword by coastal writer and researcher Lee G. Brockington and a new afterword by coauthor and lowcountry novelist William P. Baldwin.

  • Cover
  • Heaven Is a Beautiful Place
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Contents
  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • TWO WORLDS
    • Little Red Horses
    • Mama
    • Daddy
    • The Writer’s Project
    • Lillie-in-the-Valley
    • The Garden of Eden
    • Lillie’s World
    • Mrs. Floyd
    • Bubba Dick
    • Christmas
    • New Year’s Eve
    • Brookgreen Gardens
    • 1941
  • OTHER WORLDS
    • Cousin Sam
    • The Crash Boat Crew
    • People Mama Brought Home
    • The Gray Man
    • Alice Flagg
    • School
    • Communism
    • Germany
    • Library Problems
  • MARRIAGE
    • Bill Peterkin
    • Marriage and a Child
    • Bill Hickman
    • Captain Peterkin
    • Aunt Hagar
    • A Light
    • Civil Rights
    • Doubts
    • Fish Stories
    • Troubles
    • Julia Peterkin
    • Courage
  • MODERN TIMES
    • Buck
    • Skin
    • Zacky Knox
    • Politics
    • Hurricanes
    • A Communion
    • Another Communion
  • JIM
    • Mourning
    • If You Follow Me
    • Anger
    • An Afterlife
    • Mother’s Day
  • A FINAL WORD
    • Dogs and Flowers
  • Afterword
  • About the Authors

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