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A review by carolynf
Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers
5.0
I put this off for too long thinking it was a dry history of the region. It turned out to be a fascinating memoir of a young public attorney in rural Tennessee, who includes stories from her family's past and present.
Part one is Cassie's childhood and education through high school. We learn about how her mom was the first in her family to graduate high school, which happened in the 90s just a few years before Cassie was born. She tells about the lack of plumbing and heating on the family tobacco farm, the expectation of physical labor from an early age, and the lack of accessible medical care, especially for women. But this is balanced by stories of perseverance, community, and pride.
Part two is Cassie's college years, through multiple institutions in a quest to understand who she is. The author is very hard on her young self's willingness to camouflage and adapt rather consider what she really wants. Part of this section reminded me of Tara Westover's book Educated, particularly how out of place both authors described feeling.
Part three is Cassie returning home to practice as a public attorney, representing mostly people in poverty, mostly women but sometimes men. She describes how the protections of the American legal system actually have a price that makes it inaccessible to many. She also talks about economic changes in the area (the loss of tobacco and mining) and how this contributed to the opioid epidemic, and how environmental hazards like lack of clean drinking water, decades of pesticide use, and an over-reliance on the Dollar Store contributes to poor health in general.
It was an interesting and inspiring read, and I finished it in a single day. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to understand this region of the country better.
Part one is Cassie's childhood and education through high school. We learn about how her mom was the first in her family to graduate high school, which happened in the 90s just a few years before Cassie was born. She tells about the lack of plumbing and heating on the family tobacco farm, the expectation of physical labor from an early age, and the lack of accessible medical care, especially for women. But this is balanced by stories of perseverance, community, and pride.
Part two is Cassie's college years, through multiple institutions in a quest to understand who she is. The author is very hard on her young self's willingness to camouflage and adapt rather consider what she really wants. Part of this section reminded me of Tara Westover's book Educated, particularly how out of place both authors described feeling.
Part three is Cassie returning home to practice as a public attorney, representing mostly people in poverty, mostly women but sometimes men. She describes how the protections of the American legal system actually have a price that makes it inaccessible to many. She also talks about economic changes in the area (the loss of tobacco and mining) and how this contributed to the opioid epidemic, and how environmental hazards like lack of clean drinking water, decades of pesticide use, and an over-reliance on the Dollar Store contributes to poor health in general.
It was an interesting and inspiring read, and I finished it in a single day. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to understand this region of the country better.