A review by berkeleyfisher
Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers

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!