Book Review: Tell Me A Story

By Jessica Asbell

Cassandra King Conroys book, Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy, is like sitting down after a big southern meal with the author and listening to her talk about growing up in Alabama and the journey that eventually led to Pat Conroy. A failed southern belle (as she describes herself), Cassandra faced a difficult road that eventually led to personal acceptance and rejection of the mold others tried to force her into.

After a bitter divorce and coming into her own as a sassy writer and teacher, Cassandra met Pat Conroy at a party. Pat was a larger than life, jovial man with a wicked sense of humor. Cassandra couldnt believe it when he first called her and then continued to call her on and off for a few years, as they developed a friendship.

Pat and Cassandra eventually got married in May 1998. In Tell Me a Story, Cassandra shares her stories of Pat, the good and the bad, the humorous and the tragic. We also learn more about the difficult childhood that shaped Pat and about his relationship with his daughters. We see how chaos followed him, and how his relationship with Cassandra quieted much of that chaos. Through the eyes of his wife, we not only see Pat Conroy as a legendary writer, we also see a loving husband, a devoted friend, a father who sometimes failed more than he succeeded (but continued to try), and a man with a magnetic personality, who loved to hear the stories of others.

Tell Me a Story is not only the love story of Pat and Cassandra, it is also a story of two writers and their love for the people around them. It is a story about stories and the power they hold.

Cassandra King Conroy will be at Foxtale Book Shoppe on December 6. For more information, visit FoxTaleBooks.com.