Between Them

Between Them Synopsis

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.

Two lives lived almost entirely on the road. One son, born late, piecing together the world that existed between them.

• A Portrait of a Marriage: Edna and Parker, married in 1928, spent fifteen years living "alone together" in hotel rooms and on the highways of the South before their only child was born.
• Mid-Century American Life: A vivid depiction of the Great Depression and post-war years through the eyes of a traveling starch salesman and his spirited wife.
• The Mystery of the Past: A son born late in his parents' lives attempts to reconstruct their world--their dreams, their love for each other, and the life they lived before he existed.
• The Life of a Traveling Salesman: Ride along with Parker Ford in his company car, visiting the back-street warehouses and small towns of a bygone era in the American South.