Plenty of books have tried to explain Fairhope. Most of them are history books, tracing the bayside town from its founding as a utopian experiment to its current status as one of the most talked-about small cities in the South. Leslie Anne Tarabella took a different route. Her fourth book, We Don’t Push in Fairhope, is part humor collection, part travel guide and part memoir, and it quickly became a hit, climbing to the No. 1 spot on Amazon in the Southern travel category and landing near the top of the Southern humor rankings after its release in early 2025.
Asked how a single book could straddle so many genres, the Alabama author laughed. “Well, that’s Fairhope for you—a little bit of everything and beyond explanation!” she said.
A Book Born at the Tree Lighting
The title of the Leslie Anne Tarabella book grew out of a real moment at one of the town’s best-loved traditions: the annual lighting of the trees downtown, when the live oaks along Fairhope’s streets are wrapped in white lights and crowds gather to watch them switch on for the holiday season.
“An abrasive woman showed up one year, and things took a turn for the worse—which is quite unlike most events in Fairhope,” Tarabella explained. “That strange experience became the launch pad for exploring all the good and unique things that make our town special.” Then, with a smile, she added, “The secret to our success isn’t just the flowers.”
That line is a knowing nod to what most visitors notice first. Fairhope’s downtown is famous for its flower beds, changed out seasonally and tended so carefully that they have become part of the city’s identity. Tarabella’s point is that the blooms are only the visible part of something deeper: a set of shared manners, habits and expectations that residents guard closely and newcomers are expected to learn.
An I-10 Life on the Gulf Coast
Tarabella has lived in Fairhope for 25 years, which, she acknowledges with good humor, still makes her a newcomer in the eyes of some. “I-10 has been my life’s main artery,” she said, and her biography reads like a road trip along the interstate that ties the northern Gulf Coast together.
She was born in Florala, Alabama, a small town sitting right on the Alabama-Florida state line. Her family later moved to Slidell, Louisiana, while her father attended seminary in New Orleans, and she still remembers riding the carousel at Pontchartrain Beach, the lakefront amusement park that was a New Orleans institution for generations, and playing in Jackson Square in the French Quarter.
Family ties pulled her east as well. Her grandfather was the County Agent in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, and she spent summers on the beaches of South Walton “before condos,” she said. “Actually, before anything.” Anyone who has driven Scenic Highway 30A in recent years knows how dramatically that stretch of coastline has changed.
She attended school in Pensacola and graduated from Escambia High School before her family relocated to Fort Walton Beach. Her first job was at the newly built Sandestin Beach Resort in Destin. At Florida State University she met her husband and earned a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation and gerontology, followed by a master’s degree in elementary education. “The Gulf Coast has always been my happy place,” she said.
Inside We Don’t Push in Fairhope
The book mixes lighthearted anecdotes with poignant stories, playful poetry, short quotes and profiles of local people, including residents who volunteer or have started organizations that inspire others. Black-and-white photographs and classic Southern graphics appear throughout, with a quote placed between chapters.
It opens with a line from Mississippi author Eudora Welty: “One place understood helps us understand all places better.” Tarabella said the quote captures exactly what she was after. “I’ve always wanted to blend Eudora Welty’s depth with Erma Bombeck’s humor. If people can understand why one town is booming, hurting, growing, and thriving, maybe they’ll better understand other people and their communities better.”
The pairing is a telling one. Welty, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer from Jackson, spent her career rendering small Southern places with precision and empathy. Bombeck, the syndicated humor columnist, made millions of readers laugh at the ordinary chaos of family and suburban life. Tarabella’s aim is to hold both at once: to be funny about Fairhope without being dismissive, and to be sincere without becoming sentimental.
One of the chapters that shows this balance best features artist Ricky Trione, who lost his sight in two separate accidents. “I told Ricky that I knew blindness wasn’t funny, but asked if he had any lighthearted stories about his journey,” she recalled. “He’s such a joyful person that he found the perfect anecdote to share, but as I began writing his story, it took a turn and became a reflection on his beautiful marriage.”
When she sat down to record the audiobook, Tarabella had to re-record that chapter after choking up. “And I’m the one who wrote it!” she laughed. “It’s like I didn’t know what was coming!”
The hardcover edition features whimsical cover art by Nevada-based artist Jody Cory, whose mother is local artist Karen Roloson. “Jody and I collaborated over the phone and computer and didn’t meet each other face to face until after the book was published. It turned out just like I had imagined, and I’m absolutely thrilled with her work.”
Although the book is also available in electronic and audio formats, Tarabella believes the printed version offers something extra. “I don’t mind people buying the e-version or audio version of the book, but I feel they’re missing part of the beauty of the story without holding the real finished book in their hands,” she said. “I think one reason it has sold so well is because it makes a beautiful gift and people appreciate that it’s a clean, non-political, non-controversial book they can give without offending anyone. I’m always amazed by how many people at book signings will come right out and ask if it’s a clean book. I always laugh and say, ‘Well, my mother loves it, and I’m not in trouble yet.’”
Choosing Joy, and Facing Growth Honestly
Within weeks of its release, the book sold out at multiple locations, and Barnes & Noble, independent bookstores and local gift shops all had to restock. Journalist John Sharp described it as a “love letter to modern Fairhope,” a phrase Tarabella embraced. “I love that description because I really did put my whole heart into this project.”
The focus on the positive is deliberate. “This book purposely focuses on the good in our city because no one wants to hear complaints—that’s what the personal phone numbers of the City Council are for,” she joked, before turning serious. “But seriously, there’s enough negativity in the world. My goal is to bring joy to readers and encourage them to find the charm in their own hometowns, wherever that may be.”
That message has traveled. Her first fan letter for the book came from a man in Colorado who said it reminded him of his own small town. A lifelong Fairhope resident told her, “Your book made me fall in love with Fairhope all over again.”
Still, the book does not pretend the city is frozen in time. Fairhope, like much of Baldwin County, has grown rapidly, and the pace of development is a constant topic at city meetings and around dinner tables. Tarabella addresses it head-on. “I don’t like the growth, but interestingly, neither do the newcomers,” she said. “There are some who move here without knowing the first thing about Fairhope, which always shocks me. They’re surprised at the differences and set out to change everything to be like their previous home. Then, others jump right in and learn to love us like we are.”
For readers new to the area, a little background helps explain why Fairhope feels different. The town was founded in 1894 by a group of followers of economist Henry George, who established a “single tax” colony on the bluffs above Mobile Bay. The Fairhope Single Tax Corporation, which still exists, leases much of its land rather than selling it outright. In 1907, educator Marietta Johnson opened her School of Organic Education here, drawing national attention to the town’s progressive spirit. Over the decades, Fairhope became known as a haven for artists, writers and craftspeople, a reputation reinforced by its long-running Arts and Crafts Festival each March and its monthly First Friday Art Walk. That layered history is part of what gives the city its distinct personality, and part of what residents fear losing.
One unexpected result of the book’s success has been readers reaching out to learn how to join local volunteer groups mentioned in its pages, including Hope Blooms and Neighborhood Bridges. For an author whose stated goal is encouraging community spirit, that may be the most meaningful measure of all.
From 550-Word Columns to a Full-Length Book
Before becoming an author of books, Tarabella spent a decade meeting newspaper deadlines. After three years as a columnist for a regional newspaper, she wrote for a regional news website, where her work appeared in newspapers in Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville and was occasionally syndicated as far away as Michigan and New York.
“Newspapers taught me discipline—not only with the deadlines but with my writing style as well. I only had 550 words to tell a story,” she explained. “When I tell a story in person, I can use about 80,000 words and plenty of hand gestures! But writing within a strict word count helped me focus on getting to the heart of the main idea—and getting there fast. Now, when I read a book with too many fluffy descriptions, it drives me crazy.”
She no longer writes a weekly column—“Ten years of deadlines was enough!”—but still contributes articles occasionally to a local news organization covering Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Tarabella is also an animated speaker who regularly presents programs for civic clubs, schools and churches. Several of her larger events, including programs for Samford University and Carroll County Schools, have been sell-out fundraisers. She is an on-camera contributor to Wisdom Harbour, the podcast hosted by New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews, who lives in the Orange Beach area.
“I love telling stories in different ways,” she said in early 2025, when she shared plans for short writing workshops and new media projects later in the year. “People were so kind to help me get started, and I love encouraging others to share their own stories.”
Book Signings and Where to Find It
Following the book’s release, Tarabella scheduled a spring 2025 run of signings and speaking appearances around the region, including:
- Fairhope Museum of History, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at 1 p.m.
- A First Friday Art Walk appearance at a Fairhope radio station, March 7, 2025, at 6 p.m.
- Page & Palette bookstore during the Arts and Crafts Festival, Friday, March 14, 2025, at 1 p.m.
- Barnes & Noble in Pensacola, Saturday, April 12, 2025, at noon
Those stops read like a map of the book’s world. The Fairhope Museum of History occupies the city’s former municipal building on North Section Street and tells the story of the single-tax colony and the town that grew from it. Page & Palette, the family-owned bookstore that has anchored downtown since 1968, is a regular stop for touring authors and a gathering place for local readers. And the Arts and Crafts Festival, held each March for decades, draws visitors from across the Southeast to the streets downtown.
We Don’t Push in Fairhope is available at most bookstores, as well as at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, the Fairhope Piggly Wiggly and on Amazon. Readers interested in future appearances, workshops or speaking engagements should check the author’s official channels for current information.
Whether you have lived on the Eastern Shore for decades or are just unpacking boxes, the book offers a friendly introduction to the town’s unwritten rules. The first one, of course, is right there in the title.