Things Held Dear: Soul Stories for My Sons

Following in the long tradition of southern writers, Roy Herron reflects in this book on cultural and personal values, particularly those rooted in and lived in the South. Herron writes vividly about how his life and his family are inextricably tied to the South, showing us the special people and events that played crucial roles in the formation of his character and his beliefs.

Herron writes about farming, hunting, sports, community, patriotism, and racial discrimination, as well as family, love, and relationships. He writes as a loyal and devoted southerner of the strengths inherent in the people of the South as evidenced in their daily lives. He pays tribute to those individuals, events, and institutions that helped shape his life, and in doing so, he pays tribute to a culture and its values.

These stories -- in Herron's words "soul stories" because they are so close to his heart and center -- represent the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of a genuine son of the South.