Abstract
Explorations of a Misfit Southerner is a collection of essays exploring the themes and tensions of living a life of borders—geographical, sexual, cultural, familial, and moral borders. As an adventurous, liberal female, the author struggles to find a balance between her beliefs, values, and life goals within the seemingly suffocating atmosphere of the rural south. The essays delve into the author's view on the social constraints of childbirth and child rearing, sexual practices, death, intentional isolation, and the journey of leaving home and learning to appreciate (and miss) the life left behind.