MISSISSIPPI HIPPIE

A young man comes of age in the Mississippi Delta in Bearden’s first memoir.

Bearden grew up in the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in the 1950s and 1960s, and this memoir dances around those years, weaving a tapestry of tales that are both strictly biographical and embellished, inviting readers into not only his early life, but the life of an entire community. The author recounts his childhood with an alcoholic father and hairdresser mother. He has two older brothers: Gaines and Jeff. The author himself was not exactly a model student but was fascinated by literature and music. As the title suggests, the memoir is structured into 49 vignettes that jump between past and present. As Bearden asserts, “We all have foundational stories that run the width and breadth of our lives, haunting, calling out, informing, visiting us in our quiet moments, calming or fanning the fires of our insecurities.” This is where his storytelling shines: offering retrospection on the coming-of-age narrative that surfaces throughout the memoir. Bearden recounts amusing stories of sneaking into the high school prom at age 10 to watch the dance band the Red Counts play, nostalgic tales of hitchhiking across America in the 1970s, and his attendance of a church camp in the summer of 1963. His humor is infectious, and his insights into race, class, and poverty (in particular his discussion of cotton-picking and exploitation in the Delta region) are impressive. It is in these moments where Bearden’s story becomes a personal history of a particular place, connecting the dissolute, sometimes poignant years of his youth with a wider community. Although the author writes in lyrical flourishes and with a keen sense of self-reflection, the vignettes do occasionally lose cohesion, making it difficult for readers to piece together Bearden’s life. Despite the uneven pacing and vague timeline, Bearden has created a microhistory with strong emotional heft, enhanced by the inclusion of photographs.

A vivid, evocative journey into the Mississippi Delta—perfect for lovers of regional history.