Mary: An Autobiography (Chapel Hill Books)

Born in rural North Carolina in 1933, into the last generation before the lines of segregation were broken, the young Mary Mebane felt herself trapped in a "world without options." But even in the face of poverty, racism, and the chilling certainty that her mother’s affection would never be won, she vowed to escape.In this powerful autobiography, first published in 1981, Mebane recalls the joys and chores of her country childhood, the pain of her alienation from her family and community, and her dawning awareness that in her gifts for language and learning lay her key to freedom. With her graduation from college comes a triumph that is both hard-won and bittersweet.