A Most Uninitiated Hillbilly

In his moving memoir, Wallen Bean tells the story of his Appalachian boyhood during the Great Depression, giving us a glimpse of the “olden days”as they really were. We meet his extended family and a quirky cast of town characters who nourish him and give him the solid beginnings a boy needs to go off into the world. Wallen reaches for a larger life and he finds it, sort of, in college, where his rough-hewn Appalachian soul, a stunning combination of true goodness and hayseed naivety, is challenged. But he endures, even gets a girlfriend, and goes off to Boston University School of Theology. Wallen’s second life is lived as a Methodist minister in five New England churches. He and his wife Christine (yes, the same girlfriend) thrive in some parishes, fail miserably in one. They live in big and small parsonages, become parents, and learn tough love in dealing with different congregations. He develops a special talent for working with young people, a desperate need in 1960s America.Wallen Bean, the social worker, is coming into full bloom and, again, he reaches out to change his life. In his third incarnation, Wallen leaves the ministry and plunges into youth work, from the Job Corps in New Bedford to Revival House in Fall River, where he works with troubled young people. Along the way, he finds spiritual nourishment at the local Friends Meeting, especially the Quaker belief in the power of small groups. He never quite loses his Appalachian soul, but he is transformed from uninitiated hillbilly to one who confronts and negotiates a gritty, heartbreaking world with wisdom and sophistication. One man’s journey honestly told, even his fish stories.