Looking for the River: A Search for Identity
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2025
Pages: 276
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2025
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Your perspective often changes if you grew up mixed race in the ‘50s and ‘60s like the author. Being treated differently by different cultures, although not unusual these days, put him in white, black and Creole environments without knowing those groups’ expectations or customs.
This memoir considers people, places and events—the core elements that helped others accept, tolerate or “place” former professor George Sylvie, whose life interconnected with history (e.g., The Great Migration, the Civil Rights Movement, the return South, Affirmative Action), encountered ever-evolving litmus tests, and required in-the-moment tweaking.
But humanity, bittersweet humor, and the stubborn pursuit of balance were the tools that Sylvie used to navigate the terrain of politics and relationships that he encountered. Travel with him as he describes the intense human struggles in dealing with racial identity and ambiguity, youthful conflict, peer pressure, parental embarrassment, imposter syndrome, anxiety, discrimination, and depression, among others. Along the way, you’ll feel the heartache and the strength he found. Whether you put little trust in others, or if you’re a glass-half-full type of person, you’ll discover how his dealings with people evolved, complete with honest storytelling, and how they made him who he is.
George Sylvie was born in 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana, the last son and fourth child of Mark and Anna Mae Sylvie. He attended Catholic schools until 1972, moving on to Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He went on to get a master’s from the University of Missouri and a doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin, between which he worked at The Shreveport Journal. Before earning a doctorate in communication and management in 1987 from UT, he married his wife Kathy, and they raised two children in the Austin area. George retired after 26 years at UT, earning the title of associate professor emeritus in 2018.
Your perspective often changes if you grew up mixed race in the ‘50s and ‘60s like the author. Being treated differently by different cultures, although not unusual these days, put him in white, black and Creole environments without knowing those groups’ expectations or customs.
This memoir considers people, places and events—the core elements that helped others accept, tolerate or “place” former professor George Sylvie, whose life interconnected with history (e.g., The Great Migration, the Civil Rights Movement, the return South, Affirmative Action), encountered ever-evolving litmus tests, and required in-the-moment tweaking.
But humanity, bittersweet humor, and the stubborn pursuit of balance were the tools that Sylvie used to navigate the terrain of politics and relationships that he encountered. Travel with him as he describes the intense human struggles in dealing with racial identity and ambiguity, youthful conflict, peer pressure, parental embarrassment, imposter syndrome, anxiety, discrimination, and depression, among others. Along the way, you’ll feel the heartache and the strength he found. Whether you put little trust in others, or if you’re a glass-half-full type of person, you’ll discover how his dealings with people evolved, complete with honest storytelling, and how they made him who he is.
George Sylvie was born in 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana, the last son and fourth child of Mark and Anna Mae Sylvie. He attended Catholic schools until 1972, moving on to Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He went on to get a master’s from the University of Missouri and a doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin, between which he worked at The Shreveport Journal. Before earning a doctorate in communication and management in 1987 from UT, he married his wife Kathy, and they raised two children in the Austin area. George retired after 26 years at UT, earning the title of associate professor emeritus in 2018.