Rick Bragg's Somebody Told Me: autobiography and memoir

¶ … non-fiction work is simply a compilation of news stories originally written by the author for the New York Times and other newspapers. The main idea is to showcase the author's writing, and his ability to bring people and their problems (and joys) to life for the reader. The book is divided into fourteen chapters that discuss everything from aging to education and secrets. Bragg won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for his newspaper writing, and he has won numerous other awards, too. Not even a college graduate, he was born in 1959 in a small town in Alabama. He has written for a variety of newspapers, and most of the stories in this book were written for the New York Times, where he still works today ("Author Biography"). This book is hard to read, because some of the stories are quite emotional. Others are joyful and light. Reading a book of newspaper stories seemed a bit boring at first, but once the reader picks up this engrossing book, it is hard to stop turning the pages until the end.

The author's main purpose in writing this book is to share the lives of everyday people around America with the reader. He does this admirably with his well-written portrayals of everything from survivors of disasters to children with autism and the secrets every person keeps to themselves. In actuality, the book is just a group of newspaper columns gathered and reprinted, but the columns flow together well, and each chapter seems to move toward the next with ease.

Bragg begins the book with a section titled "Survivors," which discusses natural disasters, murder, and death from uranium poisoning, to name a few. His words are poignant and thought-provoking at the same time. In "The Valley of Broken Hearts" he writes, "If heartaches were matches, her little house would have burned down a long time ago. Most days now the old woman just sits in the yard and dreams of a dead husband, in a valley crowded with ghosts of men who died too soon" (Bragg 16). As this story shows, Bragg has a way of stating the facts with emotion and empathy that draws the reader into the book and makes them want to learn more about the people and places he describes. He seems to be able to open the people up to their very deepest emotions and get them to say what they really think and feel, and then shares that perfectly with the reader.

In the chapter "Hurtful Things," Bragg introduces the reader to the pain and trials of being homeless in America. He writes, "Ed Washington lives in a refrigerator box under the interstate with an emaciated black cat named Two-Lane. He sleeps with a kitchen knife in his blankets because he had a dream once that someone killed him and no one noticed" (Bragg 61). The reader immediately understands that companionship is important to everyone, no matter where they live. Worst is the fear of dying without mattering, and dying without anyone noticing you are gone. Bragg goes for the jugular in these stories, and the reader understands the pain, suffering, and sadness of these people across America.

Later, the reader meets Taylor Touchstone, a 10-year-old autistic boy who survived four days in a swamp, Nita Krebs and Anna Mitchell, two aging little people who live in Sarasota, Florida, a legion of Elvis fans, and Rose Preston, a tap-dancing 14-year-old making a living on the streets of New Orleans. Bragg writes, "The youngest, cutest children make a little more money as they tap dance for tourists outside the two-drink minimum bars, the lethargic striptease acts, and the walk-up daiquiri stands. Most weekends, there are a least a dozen dancers her in the Quarter, all children" (Bragg 160). Bragg shows people the underbelly of life in America, but shows it is not all bad, and that even the most desperate people have hope, dreams, and a desire to make their lives better. Late in the book, one simple sentence seems to sum up what Bragg is trying to accomplish with his book. He writes, "This is a place that has learned to cherish a slow day" (Bragg 246). He writes like that throughout the book, and captures his subjects with tact and understanding.