Review
Alien in the Delta by Thankful Strother is a memoir of notable events and observations from the author's life. It is a short, entertaining book that gives readers a glimpse into a particular period of American history.
Thankful Strother shares a series of memorable events from throughout his lifetime. Some feature well-known events, such as his reaction to JFK's assassination, while others are personal memories. The stories run the gamut from early home life to first kiss, from a stint in the Air Force to working in corporate America and purchasing and managing an apartment building. The combination of facts and the author's thoughts and feelings make for compelling reading. There are several personal photos placed throughout the book.
I enjoyed reading about Thankful's life. He is a good storyteller and has a knack for sharing the lessons he has learned in life. I could not believe things he experienced, such as escapades in Europe. Also, it was interesting to learn about his experiences as a black man in the South, in the U.S. Air Force, in Europe, and his international marriage. It was gratifying how much Thankful accomplished despite the obstacles presented to black men during that period in the U.S.
The format of this book is unique. It does not follow the typical chapter model but is divided into topical sections by headings. Each chapter is short. The concise format makes this an ideal book to read in small increments. The writing style is conversational. It is as if the author is telling readers a series of life stories.
From the Author
Excerpt of an interview with The Coast News in San Diego County
"Alien in the Delta" chronicles Thankful Strother's life growing up in rural Southeast Arkansas between 1949 and 1961, including his military and corporate America experience. Written more as a memoir than a conventional autobiography, Strother shares a personal narrative of facts and feelings with the reader in a concise and credible 250-page work--six years in the making.
Strother, now retired in San Diego, was inspired to write after some light nudging by his daughter, Christine, who regularly listened to her dad's stories as she grew up. "She kept telling me that I should write this down, that I ought to write a book; about six years ago, I started going out to the beach with a personal tape recorder and dictating a story one at a time." "About 14 tapes later, I was ready to commit to writing, and it all came together," he said. Strother says the project morphed into its present form: "My original vision for it was an autobiography, but along the way, more commentary became associated with it. I wanted to leave a legacy, not just collect facts."
Strother's timeline comes against the familiar backdrop of recent American post-World War II history, including the segregation, prejudice, and inequality that was synonymous with the times and growing up in the Arkansas Delta. To his credit, Strother doesn't solely focus on the hardness of the times he grew up in. He shares his feelings of amusement, happiness, and sense of humor. He rises above stereotypical thinking and is reflective but never bitter about the adversity he faced.
Strother's narrative contrasts the rural South to experiences he had later in life, such as living in Germany in the 1960s and after being in the corporate world, where he worked for such tech giants as NCR and AT&T.
While Strother says he is not a speaker or advocate, his impressive resume later in his life -- and his success -- lends itself to being equal parts inspirational and theatrical; his story is one of coming up from relative poverty to have a successful military and corporate career. "I am not advocating for anyone; I just wanted to tell these stories of things I experienced. I feel that in itself is a wonderful accomplishment. There was excitement, humor, and history with those times," he said.
From the Inside Flap
"The fountain of content must spring up in the mine, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove."
Samuel Johnson
From the Back Cover
You go on a journey that highlights the life experiences of a boy from age six through manhood. He grew up on the Mississippi River in the Arkansas Delta but felt out of place in that environment. Prejudice and inequality were practiced openly in his hometown; escape from the Delta wasn't realized until he went abroad. He takes you on his adventures in the rural south and throughout Europe, sharing range of emotions, including fear, sadness, happiness, and amusement. Alien in the Delta is a memoir about overcoming adversity.
About the Author
Thankful Strother was born in 1943 in Grand Lake, Arkansas, grew up in Eudora, Arkansas, and graduated high school in 1961. He joined the US Air Force stationed in Germany for four years, where he learned to speak German and met his wife, Barbara. They have been married for fifty-seven years and had two children. Thankful had a thirty-five-year career with NCR and AT&T in telecommunications and computers. He retired in 2003 and lives in California. In retirement, he accomplished his goal to write a book about his early life. Alien in the Delta is that book. It is a memoir about growing up poor in a hostile environment in the 1950s to experience incredible success later in life.
Thankful Strother has an interesting story to share regarding the origin of his name. When he was researching his family's ancestry, he discovered that his great-great-grandfather's first name was Thankful, and his other great-great-grandfather's last name was spelled S-t-r-o-t-h-e-r. Additionally, he learned that his grandfather, John Strother, had altered the spelling of their last name when he got into trouble with the law. To pay tribute to his ancestors, Thankful combined the two names and adopted Thankful Strother as his own. By doing so, he is honoring his family's history and his own life experiences.
