Structure

The memoir is divided into 40 chapters. Each chapter is identified by number and title, with the titles typically giving clues about the events that take place in that chapter. For example, there is a title called “Fish out of Water.” In that chapter, Bobi talked about moving from the holler where she was born to town. Her parents split up and she and her brother moved into town with their mother. Bobi had a strong connection to the holler and to her Granny, who lived nearby. Though she did not dwell on the fact, the move likely made her feel like the metaphorical “fish out of water.” She also related the story a cousin told her, about her father shoving her mother's head into a fish tank, breaking it. That would have resulted in a literal “fish out of water.”

The memoir does not flow in chronological...