Turned Funny: A Memoir

Sibley, whose special interest column in the Atlanta Constitution is a popular feature in that newspaper, unfolds the story of a remarkable life. Tracing a prolific southern ancestry, Sibley brings to life a gaggle of lovable eccentrics, relatives and others who in the gentle idiom of Georgia ``turned funny.'' This extended family nurtured Sibley as she grew up, migrating with her mother among a variety of welcoming households until she began her lifelong romance with newspaper work. To support herself and her children during her shaky marriage and widowhood, Sibley also wrote fiction ( The Malignant Heart ; Jincey ), and while her newsbeat has stretched from murder trials to Hollywood events, the writer remains close to the land of her ancestors. The richness of Sibley's unconventional and not untroubled life is conveyed with a deep pride in the legacy of four generations of independent men and women, free spirits who bequeathed her an unquenchable zest for life. Illustrations not seen by PW. (September)