You Ain't From Here, Are Ya?: Reflections on Southern Culture by an Outsider

Miriam takes a lighthearted look around after she moves from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Newberry, South Carolina, in the "Midlands" of the state. She compares and contrasts what she finds with what she has known in the Midwest and West and comes up with both similarities and differences, occasional surprise, and frequent delight. This is a collection of newspaper columns from the Newberry, SC, Observer. Back cover copy: "I buy the newspaper for the obituaries and your column!" This tongue-in-cheek comment couldn't have been wholly true - after all, the high school sports stories were in there, too - but it shows how accepted she had become. Unexpectedly submerged in Southern Culture, what's a nice Great Plains girl to do? Miriam's solution was to talk about it, and so began a year long conversation with her readers in the Newberry, SC, Observer. Come join the fun.