Between Them

From American master Richard Ford, a memoir: his first work of nonfiction, a stirring narrative of memory and parental love

How is it that we come to consider our parents as people with rich and intense lives that include but also exclude us? Richard Ford’s parents—Edna, a feisty, pretty Catholic-school girl with a difficult past; and Parker, a sweet-natured, soft-spoken traveling salesman—were rural Arkansans born at the turn of the twentieth century. Married in 1928, they lived “alone together” on the road, traveling throughout the South. Eventually they had one child, born late, in 1944.

For Ford, the questions of what his parents dreamed of, how they loved each other and loved him become a striking portrait of American life in the mid-century. Between Them is his vivid image of where his life began and where his parents’ lives found their greatest satisfaction.

Bringing his celebrated candor, wit, and intelligence to this most intimate and mysterious of landscapes—our parents’ lives—the award-winning storyteller and creator of the iconic Frank Bascombe delivers an unforgettable exploration of memory, intimacy, and love.

De la maestrul american Richard Ford, un memoriu: prima sa lucrare de non-fictiune, o naratiune emotionanta a memoriei si a dragostei parintesti Cum ajungem sa-i consideram pe parintii nostri ca oameni cu vieti bogate si intense care ne includ, dar si ne exclud? Parintii lui Richard Ford - Edna, o fata feista, destul de catolica, cu un trecut dificil; si Parker, un vanzator de calatorii cu blandete si blandete - erau arkanezi din mediul rural nascuti la inceputul secolului al XX-lea.