--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Foreword As a true blue Southern girl I…" description: "\"“ Foreword As a true blue Southern girl I have often wondered…if preppies could have their own handbook…why not us? And now at last, my two good friend..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/deborah-ford-5148_gone-with-the-wind_foreword-as-a-true-blue-southern-girl-i_546218.jpg" --- # Foreword As a true blue Southern girl I have often… ![“Foreword As a true blue Southern girl I have often wondered…if preppies could have their own handbook…why not us? And now at last, my two good friends Deborah Ford and Edie Hand have written the definitive handbook for Southern gals raised in the South. One must simply not leave home without it!…” quote by Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/deborah-ford-5148_gone-with-the-wind_foreword-as-a-true-blue-southern-girl-i_546218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/deborah-ford-5148_gone-with-the-wind_foreword-as-a-true-blue-southern-girl-i_546218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/deborah-ford-5148_gone-with-the-wind_foreword-as-a-true-blue-southern-girl-i_546218.jpg) > ““ Foreword As a true blue Southern girl I have often wondered…if preppies could have their own handbook…why not us? And now at last, my two good friends Deborah Ford and Edie Hand have written the definitive handbook for Southern gals raised in the South. One must simply not leave home without it! It deserves a place on your shelf between Gone With the Wind and the Memphis Junior League cookbook, and I predict in years to come it will be passed down to daughters along with the family silver and great-grandmother’s lace doilies. It is funny, wise, charming, and smart, just like the two gals who wrote it. As modern Southern women we have learned to network with one another and share all the good advice and recipes and rules of accepted behavior that have been handed down to us (it’s a rough world out there). And so in keeping with that wonderful tradition I would like to share some advice my own wise Southern mother gave to me. When I was in high school contemplating whether to take Home Economics or not, my mother exclaimed: “Oh no, darling…you must never learn to cook and clean or they will expect you to do it!” It is advice that has served me well throughout the years. Good luck in all you do! -Fannie Flagg”” [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous guide celebrates Southern women’s traditions, networking, and practical advice, urging readers to embrace heritage while navigating modern life. **In simple terms:** Celebrate Southern traditions and share practical advice. Key Takeaway Embrace heritage, share wisdom, and support each other. Themes tradition community humor women’s empowerment culture Mood warm nostalgic Type cultural humorous When to use this quote - family gatherings - career mentorship - recipe sharing - social events Key Concepts social networking intergenerational knowledge regional identity Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor tradition while fostering inclusivity? - What modern challenges do Southern women face today? A Different Perspective The guide may reinforce stereotypes if not balanced with diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gone with the wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-with-the-wind/) [Good advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-advice/) [Good friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friend/) [Good friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friends/) [Handbook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handbook/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Home economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-economics/) [Southern women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southern-women/) ## Related quotes > [I don't usually give out advice or recipes, but you must let the person looking at the photograph go some of the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/i-don-t-usually-give-out-advice-or-recipes-but-you-must-let-the/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [“When I was in high school contemplating whether to take Home Economics or not, my mother exclaimed: “Oh no, darling…you must never learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/when-i-was-in-high-school-contemplating-whether-to-take-home/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [When you become famous, they don't give you a handbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/when-you-become-famous-they-don-t-give-you-a-handbook/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [“That is a definite no-no in the Good Father Handbook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-jones/that-is-a-definite-no-no-in-the-good-father-handbook/) [Carrie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-jones/) > [There is no handbook about how a career is going to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-cole/there-is-no-handbook-about-how-a-career-is-going-to-go/) [Gary Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-cole/) > [“The key to revising is to let the writing get 'cold' between revisions; a time lapse between readings enables you to read the draft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-b-may-and-gordon-s-may/the-key-to-revising-is-to-let-the-writing-get-cold-between-revisions/) Claire B. May and Gordon S. May > [“If you need a handbook for praise and worship, read Psalms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-george/if-you-need-a-handbook-for-praise-and-worship-read-psalms/) [Jim George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-george/) > [There is no handbook on life. There is no written rule as to who you have to be. JUST DO IT. If it turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/there-is-no-handbook-on-life-there-is-no-written-rule-as-to-who-you/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [And what I've come to learn is that it's the manufacturer's handbook, is what I call it. It teaches us how to run our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-broun/and-what-i-ve-come-to-learn-is-that-it-s-the-manufacturer-s-handbook/) [Paul Broun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-broun/) > [“Any difficult task seems easier if you break it down into manageable steps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-b-may-gordon-s-may/any-difficult-task-seems-easier-if-you-break-it-down-into-manageable/) Claire B. May Gordon S. May > [The Book of Mormon is our handbook of instructions as we travel the pathway from bad to good to better and strive to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/the-book-of-mormon-is-our-handbook-of-instructions-as-we-travel-the/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [A black woman's handbook in this industry is, 'Whoa.' The chapter on 'Don't go there.' The chapter on 'How to say that nicely,' how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelela/a-black-woman-s-handbook-in-this-industry-is-whoa-the-chapter-on-don/) [Kelela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelela/) > [“Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 429–445). New York, NY: Guilford Press; Moors, A., & De Houwer, J.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-brown/handbook-of-emotion-regulation-pp-429-445-new-york-ny-guilford-press/) [Thomas E. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-brown/) > [“Read your paper backward , sentence by sentence, as a final proofreading step. This technique isolates each sentence and makes it easier to spot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-b-may-gordon-s-may/read-your-paper-backward-sentence-by-sentence-as-a-final-proofreading/) Claire B. May Gordon S. May > [I started in college as a business major and finally transferred to home economics and studied making clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-lim/i-started-in-college-as-a-business-major-and-finally-transferred-to/) [Phillip Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-lim/) ## More by Deborah Ford > [“ “Do Southerners laugh at different things than Northerners do? 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That may be true, but friendship keeps the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/grits-pearl-of-wisdom-39-it-s-been-said-that-love-makes-the-world-go/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“If you’re single and you’re not having the greatest fun of your life, it’s high time to reassess your priorities. It may be hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/if-you-re-single-and-you-re-not-having-the-greatest-fun-of-your-life/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“ “The biggest myth about Southern women is that we are frail types--fainting on our sofas…nobody where I grew up ever acted like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/the-biggest-myth-about-southern-women-is-that-we-are-frail-types/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“Grits Glossary hillbilly \\’hil-,bi-lē\\ n: a derogatory term that refers to people living in the next county or town; alternate forms include redneck, cracker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/grits-glossary-hillbilly-hil-bi-l-n-a-derogatory-term-that-refers-to/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“Entertaining is a way of life for the Southern girl. We’ve been doing it for over three hundred years now, and we’re not too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/entertaining-is-a-way-of-life-for-the-southern-girl-we-ve-been-doing/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“ Men are important to Southern girls, but they don’t define us. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/men-are-important-to-southern-girls-but-they-don-t-define-us/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“Finding and keeping a lifelong partner is a common dream of all girls, everywhere. Women love men (well, most of us, anyway--Ellen DeGeneres is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/finding-and-keeping-a-lifelong-partner-is-a-common-dream-of-all-girls/) [deborah ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) [Explore all 103 Deborah Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) ## More Gone with the wind quotes > [Pictures that will live on for years, like 'The Birth of a Nation' and 'Gone With the Wind,' had great historical events in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wyler/pictures-that-will-live-on-for-years-like-the-birth-of-a-nation-and/) [William Wyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wyler/) > [I think Skeeter even says that when she calls up Miss Stein. "No one asked Mammy how she feels in Gone With The Wind."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-stone/i-think-skeeter-even-says-that-when-she-calls-up-miss-stein-no-one/) [Emma Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-stone/) > [“You can truly miss characters. Not like you miss people, but you can still miss them. I don’t think I’ll ever get over Melanie’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/you-can-truly-miss-characters-not-like-you-miss-people-but-you-can/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [There are certain stereotypes that are offensive. Some of them don't worry me, though. For instance, I have always thought that Mammy character in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-elizabeth-delany/there-are-certain-stereotypes-that-are-offensive-some-of-them-don-t/) [Annie Elizabeth Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-elizabeth-delany/) > [“When we reach the intersection with Homochitto Street, I turn right, into town, and soon we’re passing Dunleith, the antebellum mansion that I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/when-we-reach-the-intersection-with-homochitto-street-i-turn-right/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [ “The Bradford Exchange—a knockoff of \[Joseph\] Segel’s \[Franklin Mint\] business—created a murky secondary market for its collector plates, complete with advertisements featuring its “brokers”… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-bissonnette/the-bradford-exchange-a-knockoff-of-joseph-segel-s-franklin-mint/) Zac Bissonnette > [You have to learn to overcome those feelings when somebody is negative about a production you love or if that production doesn't do well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paice/you-have-to-learn-to-overcome-those-feelings-when-somebody-is/) Jill Paice > [“I told you once before that there were two times for making big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-told-you-once-before-that-there-were-two-times-for-making-big-money/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [If Gone With the Wind has a theme it is that of survival. 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There's never any convenient time for any of them. ― Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-taxes-and-childbirth-there-s-never-any-convenient-time-for-any/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind, Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng, Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-dowson/i-have-forgot-much-cynara-gone-with-the-wind-flung-roses-roses/) [Ernest Dowson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-dowson/) > [“In the dull twilight of the winter afternoon she came to the end of a long road which had begun the night Atlanta fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/in-the-dull-twilight-of-the-winter-afternoon-she-came-to-the-end-of-a/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Gone with the Wind, a self-help manual that dealt with the subject of how best to cope with Yankees when they venture south.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-l-atkins/gone-with-the-wind-a-self-help-manual-that-dealt-with-the-subject-of/) [Raymond L. Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-l-atkins/) > [I always wanted to be a writer. In the beginning, I thought I had to rewrite 'Gone with the Wind,' but eventually, I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-in-the-beginning-i-thought-i-had-to/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“I wasn't an Irishman, but I knew how it felt to have someone standing over you, controlling your life and wanting to call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-huang/i-wasn-t-an-irishman-but-i-knew-how-it-felt-to-have-someone-standing/) [Eddie Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-huang/) [Browse all 102 Gone with the wind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-with-the-wind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ Foreword As a true blue Southern girl I have often wondered…if preppies could have their own handbook…why not us? And now at last, my two good friends Deborah Ford and Edie Hand have written the definitive handbook for Southern gals raised in the South. One must simply not leave home without it! It deserves a place on your shelf between Gone With the Wind and the Memphis Junior League cookbook, and I predict in years to come it will be passed down to daughters along with the family silver and great-grandmother’s lace doilies. It is funny, wise, charming, and smart, just like the two gals who wrote it. As modern Southern women we have learned to network with one another and share all the good advice and recipes and rules of accepted behavior that have been handed down to us (it’s a rough world out there). And so in keeping with that wonderful tradition I would like to share some advice my own wise Southern mother gave to me. When I was in high school contemplating whether to take Home Economics or not, my mother exclaimed: “Oh no, darling…you must never learn to cook and clean or they will expect you to do it!” It is advice that has served me well throughout the years. 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