More Sweet Tea Readers' Guide

1. In Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow, we peek inside the world of two Southern institutions: funerals and hair dressers. Why is it that those subjects naturally lend themselves to humor and, occasionally, profound comparisons?

2. In The Healing Touch, homemade medicines--and humor--prove strangely effective for what ails people. Do you recall instances of old Southern remedies working wonders against all odds?

3. In The Hope Quilt, Southerners celebrate two of their favorite heirlooms--handmade quilts and grandma's old-fashioned biscuits. What is it about these two seemingly ordinary comforts that makes them so enduring in our memories?

4. In A Family Treasure, what we find at the end of the rainbow is far less wonderful than the search, itself, and the people who join us on the journey. Can you think of times when a family trip, event, or mission was memorable not for how it ended but for how much fun it was along the way?

5. In Barbie's Elopement, a pink pig becomes part of a small town wedding tradition. Southerners love ritual and tradition. Why do you think that's so important to us?

6. In Drag racer Arrested on Horseback, a Southern girl recalls her days as a barrel-racing cowgirl on the rodeo circuit. Do you have memories of reckless teenage hobbies that "country girls" took for granted?

7. In Mommy Darlin', the cult of Southern womanhood comes under close examination. Some of us are just not cut out for maternal perfection. Have you ever felt like "a Scarlett surrounded by a sea of Melanies?"