About this item
"There's not a better Southern author writing today than Lisa Patton. Her delightful new book is a modern look at what is perhaps the most sacred of all Southern rituals: sorority rush at The University of Mississippi, 'Ole Miss.' And happily for us, Miss Patton captures to absolute perfection the hilarity, hysteria, and heartbreak of it all. Funny, touching, and full of twists and turns. I couldn't have loved it more." - Fannie Flagg, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Caf, and The Whole Town's TalkingSet in modern day Oxford, Mississippi, on the Ole Miss campus, bestselling author Lisa Patton's RUSH is a story about women -- from both ends of the social ladder -- discovering their voices and their empowerment.Cali Watkins possesses all the qualities sororities are looking for in a potential new member. She's kind and intelligent, makes friends easily, even plans to someday run for governor. But her resume lacks a vital ingredient. Pedigree. Without family money Cali's chances of sorority membership are already thin, but she has an even bigger problem. If anyone discovers the dark family secrets she's hiding, she'll be dropped from Rush in an instant.When Lilith Whitmore, the well-heeled House Corp President of Alpha Delta Beta, one of the premiere sororities on campus, appoints recent empty-nester Wilda to the Rush Advisory Board, Wilda can hardly believe her luck. What's more, Lilith suggests their daughters, both incoming freshman, room together. What Wilda doesn't know is that it's all part of Lilith's plan to ensure her own daughter receives an Alpha Delt bid -- no matter what.For twenty-five years, Miss Pearl -- as her "babies" like to call her -- has been housekeeper and a second mother to the Alpha Delt girls, even though it reminds her of a painful part of her past she'll never forget. When an opportunity for promotion arises, it seems a natural fit. But Lilith Whitmore slams her Prada heel down fast, crushing Miss Pearl's hopes of a better future. When Wilda and the girls find out, they devise a plan destined to change Alpha Delta Beta -- and maybe the entire Greek system -- forever. Achingly poignant, yet laugh-out-loud funny, RUSH takes a sharp nuanced look at a centuries-old tradition while exploring the complex, intimate relationships between mothers and daughters and female friends. Brimming with heart and hope for a better tomorrow, RUSH is an uplifting novel universal to us all.
About the Author
After thirteen years at an all-girls school in Memphis and a house full of sisters, Lisa Patton headed for co-ed life at the University of Alabama where she received a BA in Communications. Forever the music lover, Lisa landed her first job at the Historic Orpheum Theatre in Memphis as a manager and show promoter before transitioning into promotions at WMC-FM 100, the landmark Memphis radio station. It was there she received Billboard Magazine's Promotion Director of the Year award. The birth of her two sons made it difficult to emcee nightly charity auctions and movie premieres so Lisa shifted into TV promotions at the NBC affiliate, WMC-TV Channel 5. Writing radio and TV promotional spots, character voice bits, and news promos made up a large part of both broadcasting positions. A three-year stint in the restaurant business as an innkeeper in Vermont added diversity to her southern roots and it was there Lisa got the inspiration for her bestselling novel, WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER. After surviving three sub-zero winters, Lisa's compass pointed south again and she sped back to Tennessee to de-thaw. A year later she returned to the music industry and was hired by multi-Grammy Award winning recording artist, Michael McDonald as personal assistant and tour manager. She worked on several albums and video projects including the Grammy nominated, certified Platinum, Motown. Lisa remained in that position until writing became a full-time career. A breast cancer survivor, Lisa is now the bestselling author of WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER and YANKEE DOODLE DIXIE. Both novels have been featured on the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Bestseller List and in 2010 Lisa was selected by Target as an Emerging Author. SOUTHERN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is the third and final book in what Library Journal calls, "The beloved Dixie series." Lisa's fourth novel, RUSH, set inside a fictional sorority house at Ole Miss, provides not only a gaze inside the most exclusive sorority recruitment in the country, but at the relationships between the sisters and the house staff. Currently at work on her fifth book, Lisa is the proud mother of two sons, eight bonus children and eleven grandchildren. She and her husband live in the rolling hills of Nashville, Tennessee with their four-legged furry daughter named Rosie. To learn more about Lisa please visit her website at www.lisapatton.com.
