Ahead of Her Time

Ann Head was a celebrated Southern author whose nuanced portrayals of women‘s lives captivated readers in the mid-20th century. Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, she drew deeply from her Lowcountry roots to craft compelling fiction that appeared in major national publications such as Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and Ladies‘ Home Journal. Her most famous work, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones (1967), became a groundbreaking young adult novel and was adapted into a television movie. A woman ahead of her time, Ann Head tackled themes like teenage pregnancy, social class, and personal agency with empathy and authenticity. She also served as a mentor to the young Pat Conroy, encouraging his early writing and helping to shape his literary path. Nancy Thode‘s biography, Ahead of Her Time, illuminates Head‘s extraordinary life—a single mother, a determined writer, and a quiet feminist voice in an era of conformity. Her legacy endures through her work and the generations of writers she inspired. Appended to the biography are a never before published story and letters of Pat Conroy‘s as well as several examples of Ann Head‘s stories.