All the Things We Didn't Say
All the Things We Didn't Say
Two Memoirs
In this poignant and introspective dual memoir, Marion Garrard Barnwell embarks on a deeply personal journey. Inspired by the memoir of her maternal grandmother, Mary DuBose Trice Clark, affectionately known as “Ganny,” the narratives, though separated by decades, are brought together to offer readers a unique and moving exploration of growing up in Mississippi and the intersections of family, motherhood, and self-discovery.
Clark’s memoir, penned in 1956, offers readers a glimpse into the past, telling the story of her life in Mississippi with unwavering commitment to “just plain facts.” Her narrative traverses the landscapes of Okalona, Nettleton, Verona, and Tupelo, revealing their histories and the vibrant tapestry of her life while artfully sidestepping the complexities of her relationships and emotional vulnerabilities. Reflecting on an era when discussions of emotion and self-awareness were often shrouded in reticence, Clark’s story leaves a void in which Barnwell seeks to uncover the unspoken truths that shaped their family dynamics.
Written at the age of seventy-seven, the same age as her grandmother when she wrote her memoir, Barnwell’s writing emerges as a response to the enigmatic silence within her grandmother’s narrative. It paints a vivid and expansive picture of her own life in the Mississippi Delta while also addressing profound themes of alcoholism, racism, shared family history, and the intricate dynamics between generations of women. As Barnwell weaves her own memoir into the fabric of this book, she takes readers on her emotional journey of self-discovery and truth-telling that leads to healing. All the Things We Didn’t Say: Two Memoirs is a testament to the power of storytelling and a captivating ode to the enduring human spirit and the timeless pursuit of understanding the intricate threads that connect us across generations.
Marion Garrard Barnwell is professor emerita of English at Delta State University. She is editor of A Place Called Mississippi: Collected Narratives; coauthor of Touring Literary Mississippi; and coeditor of Fannye Cook: Mississippi’s Pioneering Conservationist, all published by University Press of Mississippi. Her fiction has been published in the edited collections Mad Dogs and Moonshine, Christmas Stories from Mississippi, and On the Way Home; and her essays have appeared in magazines such as Delta Magazine and Portico. She is a board member and past president of Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters and Jackson Friends of the Library. Mary DuBose Trice Clark (1879–1967) was born on Christmas day in Okalona, Mississippi. Her father was a bookkeeper and owned a mercantile business. Her mother was a teacher and later a principal when the family moved to Tupelo. After high school, she attended Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated in 1897 with a degree in music. In 1900, she married Robert Baker Clark, a banker who would become president of the Federal Landbank of Tupelo and later president of the Federal Landbank in New Orleans. Over her long life, Clark taught music, worked as a switchboard operator for the first telephone company in Tupelo, ran a dress shop, and raised five children.
Acknowledgments
Preface
Prologue
Part I. Ganny’s Memoir
Preface
Chapter 1. Ganny’s Memoir
Chapter 2. Signs and Silences
Chapter 3. Her Legacy
Chapter 4. She Blooms
Chapter 5. Her Marriage and Beyond
Chapter 6. Gandaddy Clark
Chapter 7. Angel in the House
Part II. My Memoir
Chapter 8. An Idyllic Childhood
Chapter 9. Garrard Forebears
Chapter 10. Rosemary 000
Chapter 11. Those absent
Chapter 12. “Politest Boy in School”
Chapter 13. “Flapper, Yes, She’s One of Those”
Chapter 14. Love Letters
Chapter 15. The Delta, Part One
Chapter 16. The Delta, Part Two
Chapter 17. “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
Chapter 18. On Barberry Lane
Chapter 19. How Did She Do It?
Chapter 20. Reprieve
Chapter 21. Scribbles on Scraps
Chapter 22. Accident?
Chapter 23. Cathedral Days
Chapter 24. New Orleans (by way of Columbia, Missouri)
Chapter 25. Why Did She Stay?
Chapter 26. Marriage
Chapter 27. Late for Supper
Chapter 28. Motherhood
Chapter 29. Endings, Beginnings
Chapter 30. Love, Work, and Friends
Chapter 31. 1981
Chapter 32. End of an Era
Chapter 33. The Delta, Part Three
Chapter 34. Dorothy
Chapter 35. Annie’s Time
Chapter 36. The Unveiling
Epilogue
Addendum
Notes
Bibliography
