A Deeper South

"A beautifully crafted journey through the past and current South that will interest Southerners and readers curious about the region and its history."—Library Journal

"A righteous plumbing of suppressed family histories, a vigorous exorcism of the myths and willful ignorance that trouble the land of his birth, A Deeper South blazes a path through the nostalgia thicket for readers who want to make sense of their inheritances. Candler writes with indignation and empathy, showing us a better way to see the South so that we can better love any place we call home."—John T. Edge, author of The Potlikker Papers and host of TrueSouth

"[Pete's] work is about the stories the South likes to tell and probably shouldn't and about the stories the South doesn't tell and most definitely should."—Tommy Tomlinson, author of The Elephant in the Room, and host of the SouthBound podcast

"Part history, part memoir, and part self-discovery, Candler calls on us to face the demons of our past so that we can truly appreciate the region we call home."—Karen L. Cox, author of Dreaming of Dixie: How the South Was Created in American Popular Culture

"Candler explores the truth hidden behind the romance of place and digs deep to seek out harsh truths that have been silenced, overlooked, or obscured by willful blindness. This is a book that will help foster a new way of seeing the South."—W. Ralph Eubanks, author of A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape.

"A beautifully conceived and executed piece of historical reclamation."—Margaret Edds, former reporter, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, and author of What the Eyes Can't See: Ralph Northam, Black Resolve, and a Racial Reckoning in Virginia

"Combining the academic seriousness of Clint Smith's How the Word is Passed with the car mileage of Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic, Candler offers an insightful meditation on traveling the South and thinking about its often tragic history."—Evan Kutzler, H-Slavery