Maureen Ryan, dean of the Honors College from 1991 to 2002, has published a new book, "The Other Side of Grief: The Home Front and the Aftermath in American Narratives of the Vietnam War." I can't wait to read it, and in fact we're planning a book signing for her late this month or early in February. Dr. Ryan is Professor of English.UPDATE AS OF JAN. 21, 2009: We've now set Dr. Ryan's book signing from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 at Main Street Books in Hattiesburg.
A terrific summary of the book comes from the book's publisher, the University of Massachusetts Press:
The lingering aftereffects of the Vietnam War resonate to this day throughout American society: in foreign policy, in attitudes about the military and war generally, and in the contemporary lives of members of the so-called baby boom generation who came of age during the 1960s and early 1970s. While the
best-known personal accounts of the war tend to center on the experience of combat, Maureen Ryan's The Other Side of Grief examines the often overlooked narratives--novels, short stories, memoirs, and films--that document the war's impact on the home front.
Congratulations to Dr. Ryan, whom we honored with a scholarship in her name earlier this year. A fundraising dinner for the scholarship last April was a roaring success. (I would be remiss if I didn't reiterate my thanks here to alumnae Claire Gerald Brantley for seeding the scholarship.)
The press release about Dr. Ryan's book is here. Dr. Ryan, who holds a doctorate from Temple University, began teaching at Southern Miss in 1983. She was Charles W. Moorman Distinguished Alumni Professor of the Humanities from 2004 to 2006.