Stone Motel: Memoirs of a Cajun Boy

Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography

By: Morris Ardoin

Narrated by: Morris Ardoin

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

In the summers of the early 1970s, Morris Ardoin and his siblings helped run their family's roadside motel in a hot, buggy, bayou town in Cajun Louisiana. The stifling, sticky heat inspired them to find creative ways to stay cool and out of trouble. When they were not doing their chores — handling a colorful cast of customers, scrubbing motel-room toilets, plucking chicken bones and used condoms from under the beds — they played canasta, an old ladies’ game that provided them with a refuge from the sun and helped them avoid their violent, troubled father.

Morris was successful at occupying his time with his siblings and the children of families staying in the motel’s kitchenette apartments but was not so successful at keeping clear of his father, a man unable to shake the horrors he had experienced as a child and, later, as a soldier. The preteen would learn as he matured that his father had reserved his most ferocious attacks for him because of an inability to accept a gay or, to his mind, broken, son. It became his dad’s mission to “fix” his son, and Morris’s mission to resist — and survive intact. He was aided in his struggle immeasurably by the love and encouragement of a selfless and generous grandmother, who provides his story with much of its warmth, wisdom, and humor. There’s also suspense, awkward romance, naughty French lessons, and an insider’s take on a truly remarkable, not-yet-homogenized pocket of American culture.

©2020 Joseph Morris Ardoin (P)2020 Mainya Music Entertainment

Authentic and moving....

Well done, Mr. Ardoin. Your performance is the cherry on top. You do Eunice proud.

Troy Broussard

I grew up in the area

I remember seeing it from 190 and it was always such a mystery to me. I always looked for it. Many a time I wanted to turn down that road and get a good look at it but never did. It was always so well kept now I know why.

I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of his work.

Excellent Short Story

Emotional, succinct, and beautifully written. This short story manages to paint a lifetime in broad yet specific sketches. Highly recommended for anyone interested in a short piece that explores universal themes with a clever conceit.

Authentic and heartwarming!

At times I felt like I could smell a roux being prepared for the next gumbo on a cold rainy night or the strong scent of the initial cloud of smoke from my own grandmother’s rolled cigarette. Morris Ardoin truly captures what it was like growing up in south Louisiana’s Cajun country. As most Cajun’s do, Morris welcomes you into his family and seats you at the table as he serves up the language, the foods, and the way of life that at times made me feel as though I was back in the 60’s and 70’s accompanying him on hunting trips, trips to his Mémère’s or playing a hand of bourré at the kitchen table. What a gifted storyteller Morris is. I hope you take a seat at his table and join him as he shares his loves, his losses, his fears, and his richly intimate and deeply loving emotional bonds he had with his Mémère and Pépère. I highly recommend this book.

I love this book! Funny, poignant, heartbreaking

I enjoyed getting to know Morris and his many siblings and his extended family and of course, the Stone Motel. I loved Morris' reading of the book and how he captured his relatives' patois. Everytime he'd say, in his dad's voice, "towels, soap, etc." it made me laugh. The book was sweet and humorous but at the same time, there were some very dark sections. I highly recommend this book.