Near the beginning of his memoir, Wrong Side of the River, author Cliff Johnson tells a shocking story from early childhood.
In 1954, a week before Johnson was set to enter the first grade, his great-uncle invited him on a late-night alligator hunt. At the time Johnson was being raised by his great-grandmother. They lived near Cow Bayou not far from the Sabine River, in the far southeastern corner of Texas. Johnson’s mother was a fugitive from the law. His father was a mystery.
When they reached the water’s edge, Johnson’s great-uncle seized him and pulled him in. To Johnson’s horror, he realized his Uncle Rudy had no intention of hunting alligators that night. “Uncle Rudy grabbed me with his other hand and pushed my head under the cold water,” the author writes. “I struggled to pull free but his grip on my arm only tightened. With both hands he pushed me to the bottom and then attempted to stand on top of me. Pulling on his legs didn’t seem to make any difference. I was fighting for my life and it was obvious he was trying to drown me. There was nothing I could do but hold my breath and continue to struggle with all my strength.”
Johnson’s Uncle Rudy was an alcoholic merchant marine who wanted the young boy dead because he was tired of providing for him.
Incredibly, Johnson escaped, and the following morning his great-uncle apologized, claiming he had sought forgiveness from the Lord. The murder attempt was never mentioned again, Johnson writes, “buried like a lot of other family secrets … that were just as dark as the bayou itself.”
With so many wild stories to share, Johnson’s memoir hooked me early and didn’t let go till the final page. I could scarcely put the book down. That’s unusual for me, because memoir is not one of my favorite genres. In many tales of childhood trauma the author comes across as bitter or self-pitying. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t always make for the best reading.
If anybody has a right to express resentment, it’s Johnson. As a child he was repeatedly abandoned or put in harm’s way by a revolving cast of colorful but deeply flawed adult guardians who passed him around like a shared burden. However, Wrong Side of the River is no airing of grievances. It’s more of an adventure tale, fast-paced and full of good humor. I enjoyed it immensely.
Johnson responded to my questions via email.
You survived a tremendous amount of turmoil, neglect, abuse, upheaval and even a murder attempt (!) during your childhood. What was it like to relive those experiences while writing your memoir?
“Revisiting those memories that I would just as soon forget was the hardest part of writing my story. My wife was the first to notice that I would take on the mood of whatever experience I was writing about. The emotions seemed to really come out and at times would physically drain me. I think it was by adding humor, I was able to get through those times, both back when I was experiencing those events, as well as writing about them.”
How did you come to the decision to share your story? Did you worry about airing some of your most personal family secrets?
“For years I wouldn’t have dreamed of telling anyone what my younger years were like. After all, I wanted to fit in … be an equal with those around me. When I first decided to go into law enforcement and was interviewing for the position, the mayor ask me if I had any skeletons in my closet. Can you imagine my horror? My mother was in prison for most of my childhood, and we had been on the run all over the country. Skeletons in my closet? I think I was keeping the whole cemetery in there!
“The only person that wasn’t happy about me writing my story, was my Uncle Rudy. He had tried to drown me when I was a child. When he found out that was going to be in my book, he called one morning at 3 a.m. and wanted me to go fishing with him so we could talk about the event I was accusing him of. I told him that I’m a lot bigger now than I was back then, and it would probably turn out different than he expected. He died a couple years later. Health reasons … I had nothing to do with it.
“My mother and an uncle helped me with remembering the chain of events; however, my mother passed away before the book was published.”
As a reader I couldn’t help but compare your book to Mary Karr’s highly celebrated memoir, The Liar’s Club, which kind of launched a national memoir craze after it was published in 1995. Her book and yours are both coming-of-age stories largely set in Southeast Texas, featuring an eccentric cast of deeply flawed adult family members. Were you influenced by her work? What was it like following in the footsteps of such a successful book?
“I didn’t read The Liar’s Club until after my book was published. In fact I hadn’t heard of it until my sister told me I needed to read it, as a lot of her story took place in Southeast Texas. We grew up just across the river from each other. Strange that she would end up in New York and me in Idaho. As for following in her footsteps, she didn’t leave me a very clear path to success. I’ve had to find my own way.”
Seriously, though, why are there so many crazy people where y’all are from?
“Doggone it, just because some of my distant relatives fire shots at you when you are floating down the Sabine River, doesn’t make us all crazy. After all, he thought you were his brother … not some stranger passing through.
“Seriously, it could be a number of factors. Southeast Texas, Southwest Louisiana, the Piney Woods and the bottomland along the Sabine River have always been a place like no other. They say Alaska is the last frontier, but I’m not so sure that that’s true. Change comes slow to this region of Texas and Louisiana, and one of the first questions a stranger my be asked is, “Who are you kin too.” If you’re not kin to anyone, you may not feel very welcome. Johnson is a common enough name that I never really had that problem.”
How is work coming on your sequel, Right Side of the River? Has the writing process been any different this time around? I’m dying to know how your various family members ended up, especially whether your mom and Big Mama turned their lives around, and whether you ever found out who your dad was. Do you plan to answer these questions in the next book?
“Right Side of the River is over halfway finished. What makes writing it different is, on the Wrong Side of the River I was a juvenile. On the Right Side, I’m an adult, so I have to consider the statute of limitations.
“During the process of researching and writing I did find out who my dad was and discovered I had siblings that knew nothing of me. If nothing else ever came out of writing, that made it all worthwhile.
“My next book will start where Wrong Side of the River ends and come up to my retirement, as Chief of Police. It’s been a long journey and one that I look forward to sharing with my readers. I guess the one message that I really want to express is that regardless of your beginning in life, we each have the power to control the outcome. Life is all about choices.”
Author Cliff Johnson left Southeast Texas as a young man. He recently retired as the chief of police for a small town in Idaho. Buy his book from Amazon or directly from his website, Misty Peak Publishing.
3,249 responses to “Surviving the ‘wrong side of the river’”
Thanks for the helpful posting. It is also my opinion that mesothelioma has an extremely long latency time period, which means that symptoms of the disease won’t emerge right until 30 to 50 years after the primary exposure to asbestos fiber. Pleural mesothelioma, and that is the most common type and is affecting the area about the lungs, could cause shortness of breath, breasts pains, and a persistent coughing, which may bring about coughing up bloodstream.
I learned more interesting things on this weight-loss issue. 1 issue is that good nutrition is extremely vital any time dieting. A big reduction in bad foods, sugary food items, fried foods, sweet foods, pork, and white colored flour products could possibly be necessary. Holding wastes organisms, and wastes may prevent targets for losing weight. While a number of drugs momentarily solve the problem, the horrible side effects usually are not worth it, and so they never offer you more than a short-term solution. It’s a known idea that 95 of celebrity diets fail. Many thanks for sharing your ideas on this blog.
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after looking at some of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m certainly happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back regularly.
Attractive element of content. I simply stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to say that I get in fact loved account your weblog posts. Anyway I?ll be subscribing for your augment and even I fulfillment you access constantly quickly.
Saved as a favorite, I love your web site.
Wow, this article is mind-blowing! The author has done a fantastic job of conveying the information in an engaging and informative manner. I can’t thank her enough for sharing such precious insights that have certainly enlightened my awareness in this topic. Kudos to him for crafting such a masterpiece!
I wanted to thank you for this good read!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve got you book-marked to look at new things you post…
Someone necessarily lend a hand to make seriously articles I’d state. That is the very first time I frequented your web page and to this point? I amazed with the analysis you made to make this actual publish extraordinary. Excellent activity!|
After exploring a number of the articles on your blog, I really appreciate your technique of blogging. I book marked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Take a look at my website as well and let me know what you think.
Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the issues. It was definitely informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing!
Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?|
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the rest of the site is also really good.
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I really hope to view the same high-grade content by you in the future as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own, personal site now 😉
Great article.|
Hello there, You have done an excellent job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this web site.
What i do not understood is if truth be told how you are no longer really much more smartly-favored than you may be right now. You are so intelligent. You already know thus considerably relating to this subject, made me personally believe it from a lot of various angles. Its like men and women don’t seem to be fascinated except it is one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your individual stuffs excellent. Always handle it up!
Something else is that when searching for a good internet electronics retail outlet, look for online stores that are continually updated, preserving up-to-date with the most recent products, the very best deals, as well as helpful information on goods and services. This will ensure you are doing business with a shop that stays over the competition and gives you what you need to make intelligent, well-informed electronics purchases. Thanks for the significant tips I have really learned from your blog.
Thanks a lot for the helpful post. It is also my opinion that mesothelioma cancer has an incredibly long latency period, which means that signs of the disease would possibly not emerge till 30 to 50 years after the original exposure to mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma, that’s the most common sort and affects the area within the lungs, might result in shortness of breath, breasts pains, and a persistent coughing, which may lead to coughing up blood vessels.
It’s awesome to pay a quick visit this web site and reading the views of all colleagues about this paragraph, while I am also keen of getting knowledge.|
Thanks for your article on the traveling industry. I’d also like contribute that if your senior contemplating traveling, it truly is absolutely important to buy travel cover for retirees. When traveling, older persons are at high risk of having a professional medical emergency. Obtaining right insurance policy package to your age group can look after your health and give you peace of mind.
I have noticed that car insurance providers know the autos which are vulnerable to accidents and various risks. In addition they know what kind of cars are inclined to higher risk along with the higher risk they’ve already the higher the particular premium rate. Understanding the uncomplicated basics of car insurance just might help you choose the right sort of insurance policy which will take care of your wants in case you get involved in any accident. Thanks for sharing the particular ideas on your blog.
It’s nearly impossible to find experienced people for this topic, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Hello! I’ve been reading your blog for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the excellent work!|
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you should write more about this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but typically people do not talk about these topics. To the next! Cheers!
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be useful to read through content from other writers and practice a little something from their websites. |
Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Kudos|
Excellent site you have got here.. It’s difficult to find quality writing like yours nowadays. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Excellent blog post. I certainly love this website. Keep writing!
Hi there terrific website! Does running a blog like this take a massive amount work? I’ve no expertise in computer programming however I was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyhow, if you have any recommendations or techniques for new blog owners please share. I know this is off topic however I simply needed to ask. Kudos!|
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful post. Many thanks for providing this info.
I switched from another service because of the responsive team and seamless withdrawals. Charts are accurate and load instantly.
I’ve been active for since launch, mostly for fiat on-ramp, and it’s always easy onboarding. The mobile app makes daily use simple.
Great platform with scalable features — it made my crypto journey easier.
I switched from another service because of the trustworthy service and clear transparency.
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Cheers.
I would like to add that in case you do not currently have an insurance policy or maybe you do not remain in any group insurance, you will well reap the benefits of seeking the assistance of a health insurance professional. Self-employed or those with medical conditions generally seek the help of a health insurance brokerage. Thanks for your short article.
May I simply just say what a relief to find somebody who truly understands what they are discussing over the internet. You certainly know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More people have to check this out and understand this side of the story. I can’t believe you are not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.
I was suggested this website by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my difficulty. You are amazing! Thanks!|
hi!,I love your writing very so much! share we be in contact extra approximately your post on AOL? I need an expert in this area to solve my problem. May be that is you! Looking forward to look you. |
There’s noticeably a bundle to know about this. I assume you made sure good points in options also.
I’ve been using it for since launch for providing liquidity, and the scalable features stands out.
Hello there, You have done a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited from this web site.
Hey! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!|
The testing new tokens process is simple and the seamless withdrawals makes it even better. My withdrawals were always smooth.
I’m glad I discovered this webpage. I was looking for another website when I stumbled on it. Nice work.
I like the valuable info you supply in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check once more right here regularly. I’m relatively sure I’ll learn lots of new stuff proper right here! Best of luck for the next!|
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.
Excellent beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a blog site? The account helped me a appropriate deal. I have been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered vivid transparent concept|