Though University graduate Rod Dreher moved far away from his small hometown, he realized the importance of its community and culture while writing his new book about the death of his sister and the contrast in their lives.
Dreher’s comparison of small town and big city lifestyles is something he thinks undergraduate students should consider when making the decision of where to begin a career after graduating.
Dreher, senior editor at The American Conservative, said many college students today are concerned with leaving their home state, especially their hometown, and moving out to the big city because they feel that is the only way they can advance their career.
Though moving away is exactly what Dreher did after he graduated, he explained that the atmosphere and culture of Louisiana influenced his return to his hometown in St. Francisville. This realization was also affirmed after seeing the small community of St. Francisville rally around his younger sister Ruthie toward the end of her battle against cancer, he
said.
Dreher began his latest work, “The Little Way of Ruthie Leming,” after Ruthie’s funeral in the fall of 2011 to recall the way his sister’s life impacted others in the small town where she grew up, lived and worked as a school teacher.
The 2013 Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge presented Dreher and his book, which he discussed in a Senate committee room in the capitol building. The two hours of his book signing were filled with people confronting Dreher about the individuals and stories in the book and their connections with them.
While working for The Daily Reveille in 1987, Dreher recalled governor Edwin Edwards’ remark about University students leaving Louisiana, and Dreher said Edwards was not concerned about whether the graduates stayed or left.
Dreher said the statement really resonated with him in his youth and influenced his decision to move North to find opportunites in his career.
“If I could speak to my undergraduate self, I would tell him not to be so quick to leave. Things here in Louisiana are more valuable than you know,” Dreher said.
Some undergraduate students feel the only way to advance professionally is to leave the state they live; however, many people have a change in perspective later in life and realize professional advancement is not the most important thing, Dreher said.
Though Dreher said his latest book compares the lifestyles he and his sister chose, he wants his children to grow up in the atmosphere he did and experience the family rituals of Mardi Gras, LSU football games and deer hunting.