Tender

East Tupelo was a sprinkling of poor houses at the scratched-out back edge of Mississippi—and the birthplace of a boy who would become the greatest rock legend of his time.

In Tender, novelist Mark Childress has redefined the American epic. He takes us on a wild ride through the last three decades as his fictional hero, Leroy Kirby, makes his meteoric rise to stardom, from the poverty-stricken child of an overprotective mother and absent father, to an icon who stands for everything American—a role that will ultimately consume him. After reading Tender, you will never think about the South, fame, or rock-and-roll the same way again.