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Reviews
Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers
brittelkins's review
5.0
The stories don't really compare, but I know this came up as a suggestion for me because I enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy and love Ron Rash novels.... however this book is better than Hillbilly Elegy and hit home in a lot of ways for me. My grandparents came from Floyd and Pike Counties in Kentucky and the hills of Appalachia. Many of their relatives are still there or lived their whole lives and died there. There were many aspects of this story that reminded me of my family and specific relatives and I could hear their voices in Chambers's writing.
Whether you have family from this area like me or are interested in the ways some parts of the country seem unchanging in this ever-changing world, I recommend this book. This story is about how some rural areas might as well be an entirely different country from the more populated regions of the states they lie within. But it's also about Cassie Chambers's life and growing up in two worlds that couldn't be farther apart from one another.
Whether you have family from this area like me or are interested in the ways some parts of the country seem unchanging in this ever-changing world, I recommend this book. This story is about how some rural areas might as well be an entirely different country from the more populated regions of the states they lie within. But it's also about Cassie Chambers's life and growing up in two worlds that couldn't be farther apart from one another.
rmlknisely's review
5.0
This book made me think a lot about the extraordinary women in my life: my mother and sister, my grandmothers, my great-grandmothers and the choices they’ve made that allowed me to make the choices I have.
I struggled a lot as a teenager (and, frankly, now as an adult) with where I come from. I’ve always been afraid that people will judge me harshly with preconceived notions about the kinds of people who come from small mountain towns. I’ve squashed any “mountain” accent, and even today, I’ll answer that I’m from “Atlanta” rather than tell people the name of the tiny town in South Carolina I’m actually from. This book reminded me of the resourcefulness, the generosity of spirit and the deep roots of mountain people.
My people.
I struggled a lot as a teenager (and, frankly, now as an adult) with where I come from. I’ve always been afraid that people will judge me harshly with preconceived notions about the kinds of people who come from small mountain towns. I’ve squashed any “mountain” accent, and even today, I’ll answer that I’m from “Atlanta” rather than tell people the name of the tiny town in South Carolina I’m actually from. This book reminded me of the resourcefulness, the generosity of spirit and the deep roots of mountain people.
My people.
13iscute's review
5.0
2022 Reading Challenges
• ATY #43 A book set in a small town or rural area
• Ladies First #17 A book written by a woman with women on the cover
How I selected this book
Recommended by the Reading Women podcast, and I meant to read it while I was living in Kentucky, but got to it a little late.
Plot summary
The author's mother's family grew up in Owsley County, KY, 50 miles east of Berea. She herself grew up in Berea, where her parents went to college, but spent a lot of time with her family in Owsley County. She describes her family's life and challenges in the mountain, and fondly remembers the women in her life, especially her grandmother and her Aunt Ruth.
Final thoughts
I really loved reading this, but maybe just because I related to the author so much, as we have a lot in common! First, I was excited to find the author grew up in Berea, one of my favorite towns in KY.
• ATY #43 A book set in a small town or rural area
• Ladies First #17 A book written by a woman with women on the cover
How I selected this book
Recommended by the Reading Women podcast, and I meant to read it while I was living in Kentucky, but got to it a little late.
Plot summary
The author's mother's family grew up in Owsley County, KY, 50 miles east of Berea. She herself grew up in Berea, where her parents went to college, but spent a lot of time with her family in Owsley County. She describes her family's life and challenges in the mountain, and fondly remembers the women in her life, especially her grandmother and her Aunt Ruth.
Final thoughts
I really loved reading this, but maybe just because I related to the author so much, as we have a lot in common! First, I was excited to find the author grew up in Berea, one of my favorite towns in KY.
Spoiler
But, her later life really paralleled mine, and weird to think that I could have met her or at least seen her. We were born in the same year. She grew up in Kentucky, but when she was a senior, she went away to a boarding school (in New Mexico), for two years, which helped prepared her for college at Wellesley, where on the weekends she would get on the bus to come hang out at Harvard.berkeleyfisher's review
5.0
Coming from Western North Carolina in a town settled in the foothills of Appalachia, this book feels like home. I’ve never read a book that makes me appreciate, value, and mourn my hometown. Appalachia is such a special place, and I love the way she incapsulates the varying identities as an Appalachian - that the area is more than the poverty and drug use we see on the surface level. She breaks down these issues, though, and she does it beautifully written with insightful research and data. As someone who also has a long lineage in the mountains and also left for education and a new life outside Appalachia, I resonate with the hard feelings of leaving, but also the love for the place that keeps pulling me back. I’ve never wanted to hug a book more!
mosso's review
4.0
This book offered me more than I expected going in. Instead of talking about Appalachia broadly, she mostly focused on stories from her life. It made me cry almost daily on the way to work. I feel like she demonstrates great praxis for those who leave their community to gain skills but return to utilize those skills.
Towards the end, the book politically fell flat, closing with the notion that there are more rural Kentucky democrats than we think/some people who voted for Trump no longer like him. As a memoir, however, I really like the book.
Towards the end, the book politically fell flat, closing with the notion that there are more rural Kentucky democrats than we think/some people who voted for Trump no longer like him. As a memoir, however, I really like the book.
merryboberry's review
4.0
Although Chambers' personal narrative of success is inspirational, the real story is that of the Appalachian people: the unfathomable adversity they continue to face to this day and the unbreakable spirit they fight to maintain.