The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones - by Sharon Mabry (Paperback)

About the Book

A salad-eating dog, the haunted trunk, a 'possum who drinks coffee-The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones by Sharon Mabry reveals Mabry's secret humor during childhood that follows into marriage and later retirement.

Book Synopsis

A salad-eating dog, the haunted trunk, a 'possum who drinks coffee-The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones by Sharon Mabry is a collection of stories about Mabry's growing up years in the mountains of East Tennessee, some of the adventures in her 56-year marriage, and her thoughts on retirement after teaching for 52 years at Austin Peay State University. Mabry writes with wit and candor about her mother's declining health and the changes to her family home. Throughout her life, Mabry finds the humor that lives within each moment. The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones is a collection that glimpses into the inner joy that maintains Mabry's dimpled cheeks and smiling eyes. It's a contagious outlook that will inspire readers to find amusement in their own reflections.

Review Quotes

"The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones is the type of book you want to curl up with in front of a crackling fire with a hot cup of coffee. Cozy, comforting, amusing, and brimming with heart, Mabry's prose absolutely shines. Though she doesn't shy away from hard things, her stories fill you with a warm glow and the desire to delve into your own anatomy for the memories that live there." -Anna Lee Huber, USA Today Bestselling Author of A Fatal Illusion

Her great-aunt said, "Memories live in the bones," but Sharon Mabry extracts them with precision and deft expertise, sharing them on the pages of her memoir, The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones. Poignant, with clever descriptions and sometimes laugh-out-loud humor, Mabry's personal stories transport us to our own similar childhood experiences; we are immensely grateful for that journey.

-Julia Brewer Daily, Award-winning author of No Names to Be Given and The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch

"I had the pleasure to hear Sharon Mabry discuss her book, The Postmaster's Daughter, at the 2023 Writers Conference at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. I was impressed by her words and her delivery and recognized that she is an accomplished storyteller.

"This led me to read, The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones, a general biography of her life, highlighted by eighteen specific stories. I appreciated the openness of the sharing of her biography, especially two stories. 'Living in Sin' is the story of her wedding and all the challenges that can accompany the event. In 'Retirement or Abandonment', Mabry shares her struggle to decide when and if to retire. Many readers of her personal stories will recognize situations in their own lives. Also, this book will inspire other writers to share their own life experiences. It has me."

-Rick Gregory, author of The Bell Witch in Myth and Memory: From Local Legend to International Folk Tale (University of Tennessee Press, 2023).

"Sharon Mabry describes herself as 'a planner by method, ' but The Blue Box and Memories that Live in the Bones is full of unplanned, unprecedented, uncontrollable moments. Some of them are humorous, East Tennessee stories of a beloved scalawag dog or a prom date gone bad. But Sharon Mabry also tells much darker stories, of the unloved family next door and, even darker, the story of her troubled relationship with her mother. These are stories that have nothing to do with East Tennessee. Sometimes unplanned things happen to all of us. Mabry knows that, whether she knows it or not."-John Bridges, author of How To Be a Gentleman