The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love:
A Fallen Southern Belle’s Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared
By Jill Conner Browne
“For anyone even remotely familiar with Jackson, Mississippi, the name “Sweet Potato Queens” instantly evokes sweet memories of beautiful, somewhat augmented female forms enveloped in green sequins, towering red hairdos, provocative dances, and the haunting refrain of “Tiny Bubbles,” as only Don Ho could – or would, for that matter – deliver it. If, as they say, you ain’t from around here, you need some enlightening; and your life will not be complete until you get it. Nor will it ever be the same after you do.”
Ahem, there is nothing “somewhat” about the augmentation, as you can tell from the cover of this book. It is pure fun, from the title and cover to the recipes in the back for Chocolate Stuff and Armadillo Dip. It is sitting down with a girlfriend and having a few drinks while you tell the most outrageous stories you’ve ever heard or experienced in your life. It is positively irreverent and may be giving away the secrets of all women kind but no man will ever pick it up anyway.
The Sweet Potato Queens began as a float for the Jackson, Mississippi St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Considering the outrageous nature of the behavior, the women decided that they needed to do something to maintain some anonymity so they held a meeting to pick names but everyone wanted to be called Tammy. To be fair, they decided to ALL be Tammy.
The great thing about the Sweet Potato Queens is that while other beauty queens only get to be one for a year and have to do all sorts of things for the privilege, “Sweet Potato Queens, on the other hand, don’t have to do jackshit that anybody says, and we are Queens for Life.”
The titles of each chapter is thoroughly explanatory, such as “The True Magic Words Guaranteed to Get Any Man to Do Your Bidding.” The true secret is one that cannot be spoken out loud or at least absolutely not in mixed company. And it is not something a Queen follows through on. It is simply held out there in the hopes that one day, far in the future, she will follow through on the promise.
Then there is “The Best Advice Ever Given in the Entire History of the World.” It is incredibly simple, just two words, but not to be underestimated. “Consider, if you will, the profound effect that following advice would have on, say, your diet, your love life, your financial situation, your decision on whether to have that next drink. I mean, what do those two words not cover?” You’ll just have to read the book to find out what it is.
Other chapters include, “Be Prepared on Account of You Just Never Know,” “He Ain’t Nothin’ But a Man: You Better Have a Good Defense,” and “Men Who May Need Killing, Quite Frankly.”
It is the battle of the sexes told in a humorous light and with great dollops of southern charm. Just when you’re having a grand old time, laughing so hard you might just pop a stitch, she sneaks a little down home wisdom in too. Enjoy.
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