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A review by lowclasswarrior
Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.25
I recommend the audiobook version read by the author.
I grew up in the deep south (New Orleans area). The southern culture of my home is similar but different to Reese’s experience growing up in Nashville. More like an adjacent southern culture with quite a bit of overlap. It was interesting to hear what I thought were universal experiences to be unique to the south.
To be honest, this book made me kinda forlorn. It reminded me of how isolating it is for a neurodivergent girl to grow up in a culture of conformity outside of the status quo. To be different than what was socially acceptable. To always feel like something was wrong with me because I behaved wrong, didn’t wear the right clothes, didn’t have the right personality. It’s interesting to hear Reese’s positive experience—an experience I’m sure my mother and sister would agree with.
There are things I love about the south, however, that were echoed in this book. We have the best food. People in general are kind and very open/generous. Something that I’ve seen northerners find suspicious. Of course there is systemic racism, government corruption, lacking education, but I find people tend to show you who they are right away. (Opposed to northerners that tend to hide certain ideologies—like racism behind closed doors.)
The epilogue was interesting. I don’t necessarily disagree, but I think it’s important to highlight the difference between city and rural ideologies. Cities are always a blue dot in a sea of red. I think our cities are the best of both—they’re a welcoming haven to a diverse population—poc, queer community, different cultures. This is reflective in the food, the art community, the atmosphere in general. But it’s a lot friendlier than similar northern cities. I have a friend who now lives in portland, oregon. He just randomly struck up a conversation with a stranger while standing in line at the grocery (much to his date’s horror). However, the rural/small town communities can be like stepping back to the prejudices of the 50s and some places are generally unsafe for those outside of the status quo. As the cities become increasingly expensive, the neighboring suburbs have slowly become more accepting though this is often greeted with retaliation such as burning down pride banners and vandalizing yards with democratic signs. I should also mention that the state government tends to hate its blue cities and will enact certain laws to oppress those living there—those that don’t conform to the status quo set by the rural communities (and religion extremism).
I think the south can be a wonderful place to live. 70* winters where it rarely if ever snows, driving distance to beautiful temperate beaches, a culture that prioritizes community, incredible food (that’s not afraid of spices and heat), beautiful historical architecture. But it’s important to keep in mind that everywhere has its good and bad. We still have the lowest paying jobs despite cost of living exploding and locals are becoming more displaced by remote workers from higher paying states (cali and nyc mainly). This can result in our culture becoming diluted, for better or for worse.
I hated growing up in the south. But it wasn’t until I left that I found an appreciation for it. We really do have a rich culture.
I grew up in the deep south (New Orleans area). The southern culture of my home is similar but different to Reese’s experience growing up in Nashville. More like an adjacent southern culture with quite a bit of overlap. It was interesting to hear what I thought were universal experiences to be unique to the south.
To be honest, this book made me kinda forlorn. It reminded me of how isolating it is for a neurodivergent girl to grow up in a culture of conformity outside of the status quo. To be different than what was socially acceptable. To always feel like something was wrong with me because I behaved wrong, didn’t wear the right clothes, didn’t have the right personality. It’s interesting to hear Reese’s positive experience—an experience I’m sure my mother and sister would agree with.
There are things I love about the south, however, that were echoed in this book. We have the best food. People in general are kind and very open/generous. Something that I’ve seen northerners find suspicious. Of course there is systemic racism, government corruption, lacking education, but I find people tend to show you who they are right away. (Opposed to northerners that tend to hide certain ideologies—like racism behind closed doors.)
The epilogue was interesting. I don’t necessarily disagree, but I think it’s important to highlight the difference between city and rural ideologies. Cities are always a blue dot in a sea of red. I think our cities are the best of both—they’re a welcoming haven to a diverse population—poc, queer community, different cultures. This is reflective in the food, the art community, the atmosphere in general. But it’s a lot friendlier than similar northern cities. I have a friend who now lives in portland, oregon. He just randomly struck up a conversation with a stranger while standing in line at the grocery (much to his date’s horror). However, the rural/small town communities can be like stepping back to the prejudices of the 50s and some places are generally unsafe for those outside of the status quo. As the cities become increasingly expensive, the neighboring suburbs have slowly become more accepting though this is often greeted with retaliation such as burning down pride banners and vandalizing yards with democratic signs. I should also mention that the state government tends to hate its blue cities and will enact certain laws to oppress those living there—those that don’t conform to the status quo set by the rural communities (and religion extremism).
I think the south can be a wonderful place to live. 70* winters where it rarely if ever snows, driving distance to beautiful temperate beaches, a culture that prioritizes community, incredible food (that’s not afraid of spices and heat), beautiful historical architecture. But it’s important to keep in mind that everywhere has its good and bad. We still have the lowest paying jobs despite cost of living exploding and locals are becoming more displaced by remote workers from higher paying states (cali and nyc mainly). This can result in our culture becoming diluted, for better or for worse.
I hated growing up in the south. But it wasn’t until I left that I found an appreciation for it. We really do have a rich culture.