If you didn’t grow up on The Coast, chances are that the first time you saw the unusual combination was when you heard about Jesmyn Ward (a novelist who was born and raised here). You will be immersed in Jesmyn Ward’s fictional world of Bois Sauvage, where you will encounter the hardships of African American families. Bois Sauvage, a Mississippi coastal town, is an inspiration from DeLisle. Ward deliberately places descriptions of the town and its surroundings in her first novel, Where the Line Bleeds. This introduces her readers to a world that is not often depicted – one similar to her own. Ward talks through Joshua DeLisle in Where the Line Bleeds. He provides one of the first illustrations for Bois Sauvage. Bois Sauvage, however, remained isolated in the bay behind the towns that share the coastline’s boundaries. They melted into one another so that he could only tell which way he was going. It was surrounded by natural boundaries on three sides. It was bordered by a bayou to the east, west, and south. This bayou is the same one that the Wolf River flowed into before it merged into the Bay of Angels, then into the Gulf of Mexico. Only two roads crossed the bayou, leading from Bois Sauvage to St. Catherine (the next town). Joshua and other long-term residents of DeLisle couldn’t help but look past the grimy facade to see what makes their community unique. David Dedeaux, a DeLisle native, said that he grew up in the area all his life. “This is where my children will be raised. It’s where my grandkids are raised. It is a great place to live. Look around you. It’s peaceful. Like any community, there are ups and downs. But, there is good. It is also a place where everyone knows everybody and neighbors can be called family. Alice Dedeaux Bailey, a DeLisle resident, said that she knows people who lived in Pass Christian, grew-up in Pass Christian, or are from DeLisle. Although I might not be able to identify their names, I will recognize a face if I see it.” Ward even returned to DeLisle in order to start her own family. Ward spoke out at the South Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration, Gulfport, March 31, 2017. She explained why she was returning home. Ward stated, “I returned to Mississippi as the landscape is beautiful. It is special. I am endlessly fascinated by its beauty and uniqueness. I try to capture it in my writing.” Ward’s appreciation of Mississippi’s landscape, especially DeLisle, is evident in her writing. Bois Sauvage in French means “wild wood”. Sauvage is also a play on the words “savage”, and “salvage,” both of which refer to Ward’s attempt to bring to light some harsh realities of rural black families, even her own. Literally, DeLisle is famous for its abundance of oak, pine, and kudzu trees. St. Stephens Catholic Church is the most deeply rooted structure in DeLisle. Catholic churches are often located at the heart of the black community on the coast. Ward’s Where the Line Bleeds shows Ma-mee as the grandmother and guardian to Joshua and Christophe. She initially feels unhappy when she discovers that her daughter Cille, a Bois Sauvage native, is going to a Baptist church here in Atlanta. Ma-mee was initially dissatisfied when Ma-mee learned that she had attended services at a Baptist Church. Ward’s characters are exposed through their financial, emotional, and social difficulties. It is especially their faith in their family and friends that helps them get through it all. It’s the exact same in real life-DeLisle. Joan Deadeux, a DeLisle resident said that “to me, we are just one big happy family.” “If I have any questions, I can just cross the street. My neighbor even had a key for my house. My kids could cross the street if they got locked out of their house after coming home from school. Joan describes her “end” as quiet and “really nice”. She does however agree with Ward’s depiction of DeLisle, where residents struggle with violence, discrimination and drug abuse. Joan Dedeaux said, “If you go in certain areas, you’ll find that.” She (Ward) is talking about men from this area when she talks about it. Ward lived here and knew them.” Ward’s memoir Men We Reaped documents five deaths of young black men, one of whom was her brother who was involved in a hit-and run car accident. Ward is confronted again in this book with her life as a young black girl in South Mississippi, where history repeats itself and where opportunity seems like a dim light in a dark world. We tried to keep up with the chaser, which said: You’re nothing. Although we tried to ignore it sometimes, we found ourselves repeating the words of history, brainwashed into thinking: I am nothing. We drank and smoked excessively, and were cruel to each other. We were bewildered. We were bewildered. Ward’s brother, like many other members of black families who have died in Pass Christian or DeLisle, is buried in the same cemetery where children spend their days playing basketball, volleyball, and baseball. They also enjoy sitting on the swing set and socializing on one set of bleachers. Ward wrote in Men We Reaped that the land on which the community park was built is to be used for burials so that the graveyard can grow as we die. Pass Christian High School is where DeLisle Elementary students ultimately get their diplomas. If you walk through the halls and stop by an English class, you will find at least one Ward book. Ward gave Pass Christian the name St. Catherine in her books. She describes St. Catherine High in Where the Line Bleeds: St. Catherine High was small, even for all the students from the nearby town of St. Catherine. Half of the students were white and half were black. There was also a small amount of Vietnamese. Jennifer Butler and Leslie Leyser considered the possibility that Ward’s unflinching perspectives and raw portrayals would be rejected by their students before they assigned Men We Reaped to their students. They eventually used Ward’s works to promote understanding and acceptance. Leyser stated, “When I first saw her forward to this (The Fire This Time), it was not my perspective at all.” It wouldn’t be. This is not my view as a white woman living in this area. It was not something I wanted to give to my husband to be read. He replied, “I don’t have this perspective. That didn’t happen to you.” I don’t know that story. I replied, “That’s why I read it.” You get another person’s story and somewhere in the middle you will find the truth. My students always hear me say, “This may not be your story but you can still learn from another’s.” Jennifer Butler said that she assigns Men Wereaped to her unit on literature that examines historical racism. She said that Men We Reaped is sad and tragic. Half of our population has been in these circles and they can see it. It’s real, it’s hard to believe, it’s dark and gritty, and many teachers are reluctant to admit it. Literature is not all pretty. It was the last year that I finished the year with, and my students agreed. “A Conversation With Jesmyn Ward” will be presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council at 12 p.m. Saturday during Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson. According to the Mississippi Book Festival website “she will talk on her body of work, as well as her thoughts about our state with Scott Naugle,” Naugle is chief operating officer at BXS Insurance and co-owner Pass Christian Books.