Author Jim Stratton's youth was a time when children were safe at school, when there was a respect for human life, and when there was hope that humanity was actually getting more civilized as the decades went by. In Screams and Whispers, he shares an autobiography of his life, including details about his youth, family background, and his growth as an artist. Born and raised in Hartsville, a small town in northeastern South Carolina, Stratton narrates how his parents were poor, but worked hard to provide for him and his brother, Doyle. Stratton shares stories of an idyllic childhood filled with adventure, joy, and heartache. Screams and Whispers also includes several of Stratton's poems accompanied by his own original oil paintings selected from more than fifty years of painting with oils on canvas. Offering a reflection of one man's soul search for a time less full of laziness, gluttony, anger, and hate, Screams and Whispers provides a record of Stratton's social, political, and religious worldviews.