Sometimes a town chooses you.
Looking for Space is a story of triumph over adversity for one boy growing up in a small town, and an intimate look at how the community embraced a newcomer and helped him find his way.
When Charles lost his father at age ten, he was uprooted from everything familiar and eventually moved to Pickens, South Carolina—a place he barely knew, yet one that would come to define him. In the foothills of the Blue Ridge, among red clay fields and close-knit neighbors, he began the long work of healing and becoming.
It is also a tender portrait of how a Southern town can shape a life. The rhythms of 1970s Pickens—its public schools, church pews, football games, and front porches—offered not just comfort, but direction.
Alongside his personal journey, Charles opens a wider lens to reflect on the region’s natural beauty, cultural traditions, and the local figures who helped define Pickens County’s identity. The result is both an intimate memoir and a tribute to the quiet strength of place.
Rooted in gratitude, Looking for Space is a love letter to a town that still knows the value of showing up for one another.
