Over the last few years, a team of volunteers has been collecting interviews of people who knew Flannery O'Connor, either personally or professionally, while she lived at Andalusia from 1951 until her death in 1964.  With support from a grant awarded by the Watson-Brown Foundation, this oral history project culminated in the print publication of these interviews.  At Home with Flannery O'Connor: An Oral History features interviews with nearby friends who visited O'Connor and were familiar with Andalusia, such as Louise Abbot, Mary Barbara Tate, Marion Montgomery, Sister Loretta Costa, and Jack and Frances Thornton.  Also included are individuals who corresponded and/or visited with O'Connor about writing and matters of faith, such as Miller Williams, Robert Giroux, Cecil Dawkins, Alfred Corn, and Ashley Brown.  The following quotes are just a few highlights from the book.

"One of my favorite memories of her is seeing her parked in a car downtown in front of the movie house on a hot summer day, with all the windows rolled down, while her mother did shopping up and down the street, and where every passerby stopped to speak to Flannery."
Mary Barbara Tate

"She said one time—I don’t remember the character—but she said, “I had to let this person in the story, but I wouldn’t let him in my house.” That was something that brought a grin to my face. . . .  We laughed a lot."
Miller Williams

"You know, many Southern women are brought up to be very gracious.  And that can limit the kinds of things that you’re able to say.  And she was determined not to be held in by those constraints.  And if she had something to say, even though it might not seem all that nice, she said it."
Alfred Corn

"Oh, she had a marvelous sense of humor.  And of course, her whole career as a cartoonist, before she wrote, was another indication of that.  She was a humorist, you might say.  It was part of her gift:  a sense of humor and a wonderful one in my opinion."
Robert Giroux

"As different as we were, there was something we had in common that I’ve never been able to name ---- something that made us very comfortable with each other.  I do think that when she knew I was coming, or when I was there, she was relaxed. And I was, too."
Louise Abbot

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