Eddie Travis grew up living in small tenement houses in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with his nuclear family. He spent a great deal of time staying with his extended family members on his mother's side of the family. The two members of his extended family with whom he spent the most time were his mother's aunt and uncle, who raised his mother. His mother's mother died when his mother was seven years old, and his mother was sent to live with her daddy's brother and sister. Her daddy was always around, but she stayed with either her aunt or her uncle. By the time Eddie was born, his aunt's children were grown and had moved out, while his uncle and his uncle's wife never had any kids. Because his aunt and uncle raised his mother, they were more like grandparents to him than aunt and uncle, and because there were no children around when he came along, they treated Eddie like a grandchild, giving him the best of everything even though he lived with his parents most of the time. It was after his great aunt and uncle were gone from his life that he realized how hard life could be.