House of Smoke

A Southerner Goes Searching for Home

By: John T. Edge

Narrated by: John T. Edge

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The author of The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South tells his own story this time. Of growing up in a house wrecked by violence and a South haunted by racism. And of how his search for home led him to find escape and belonging through food. Until he realizes that gathering at the table is just one small step toward reckoning.

“A story for all Americans on a path to self-awareness, honesty, and love.”—Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of Pappyland and The Barn

In this unflinching and moving memoir, John T. Edge takes us on a quest for home in a South that has both held him close and pushed him away, as he tries and fails and tries again to rewrite the stories he inherited. Born in a house where a Confederate general took his first breath and the Lost Cause narrative was gospel, troubled by the violence he witnessed as a boy, Edge ran from his past, searching for a newer and better South. As founding director of the Southern Foodways Alliance and a contributor to newspapers and magazines, he told stories that showcased those possibilities.

In the process, Edge became one of the most visible and powerful voices in American food...until he found himself denounced by the audience he once guided, faced down the limits of his work, and returned to his origins to find himself once again. Beginning in Georgia and concluding in Mississippi, his search spans the Deep South and charts a very American story of the truth telling and soul searching it takes to love your people and your place.

Critic reviews

“John T. Edge has proven to be a deft and insightful chronicler of Southern ways and foodways. . . . Now he turns his probing eye on his own life in a moving memoir that sees him reckoning with growing up in a fascinating but difficult (and sometimes violent) environment, in a fraught South.”—Garden & Gun

“Clear-eyed, bighearted, and beautifully written, this nourishing memoir offers readers plenty to chew on.”—Publishers Weekly

“An insightful consideration of food, race and racism, and sins historical and contemporary.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This is a story of one Southern man who has become a trusted and beloved voice, but it landed on me as the story of all Southern men—me, and you, and everyone we’ve ever known. House of Smoke is ultimately a story for all Americans on a path to self-awareness, honesty, and love.”—Wright Thompson, author of The Barn

“John T. Edge refuses to allow himself or the reader the comfort of spectacle here. He does that Mississippi work and creates a lush, self-reflexive Southern monument that will last forever.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

“Navigating the ingrained cultural tensions that haunt the South, John T. Edge reveals how pain distorts identity and success breeds unintended harm. This raw and honest portrait of self-discovery is a must-read for anyone who has ever questioned where they truly belong.”—Erick Williams, founder, Virtue Hospitality Group

“Making no excuses for his ancestors, John T. Edge shines light on the troubled soils from which he grew, telling a story from the South that burns bright.”—Joe Kwon, cellist, The Avett Brothers

“John T. Edge’s story lays open the collective soul of the South.”—Frank Stitt, author and chef-owner, Highlands Bar and Grill

“House of Smoke is a heart-wrenching reckoning of the truths that remain after the world you think you know—your home, your homeland, your life’s work, your very self—is reduced to ruins. More than a white Southerner’s quest to become fully awake to a past that will never be past, this book is a model for nurturing the new life that can rise out of the deepest ashes.”—Margaret Renkl, author of Graceland, at Last

Southern Truth and Charm

John T Edge has always been my favorite story teller, but he took it to the next level by sharing his own story. It was entertaining, thoughtful, and a story that many of us can relate to. I enjoyed every minute, even when I felt a tear run down my cheek. Thank you.

Hauntingly Resonant

Haunting because Edge faces historical Southern realities that I’ve conveniently ignored for the last 30 years. I conveniently decamped my home state of South Carolina that many years ago. I’ve been amidst a fraught return to S.C. and House of Smoke has helped me with several reconciliations. His story is brimming with humanity, personal triumphs and foibles. Thank you, Mister Edge, for the bravery and vulnerability you mustered to write your story.

The authenticity of southern reality.

There are so many books that romanticize life in the south. This is closer to the reality of the era in which I grew up and still live. I'm saddened that after all this time and struggle, so much racism still exists.

Searching for Meaning

I enjoyed listening to John T. Edge read the memoir of his life and his style of developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and even his frenemies.
As a Son of the “complicated” South myself, John T. has shown me how to navigate the world of the present, past and future South.
His entire career, he’s given voice to the marginalized minority that makes up The US South with his words of encouragement and dignity that comes from his shared experiences. He’s rolled up his sleeves and gotten to it.
Help each other, and you’ll help yourself.
No matter where we are from, our Search for Meaning in Life is the underlying current to everything we do.