After rising from poverty to earn two Ivy League degrees, an Appalachian lawyer pays tribute to the strong “hill women” who raised and inspired her, and whose values have the potential to rejuvenate a struggling region.“Destined to be compared to Hillbilly Elegy and Educated.”—BookPage (starred review) “Poverty is enmeshed with pride in these stories of survival.”—Associated Press Nestled in the … stories of survival.”—Associated Press
Nestled in the Appalachian mountains, Owsley County is one of the poorest counties in both Kentucky and the country. Buildings are crumbling and fields sit vacant, as tobacco farming and coal mining decline. But strong women are finding creative ways to subsist in their hollers in the hills.
Cassie Chambers grew up in these hollers and, through the women who raised her, she traces her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. Chambers’s Granny was a child bride who rose before dawn every morning to raise seven children. Despite her poverty, she wouldn’t hesitate to give the last bite of pie or vegetables from her garden to a struggling neighbor. Her two daughters took very different paths: strong-willed Ruth—the hardest-working tobacco farmer in the county—stayed on the family farm, while spirited Wilma—the sixth child—became the first in the family to graduate from high school, then moved an hour away for college. Married at nineteen and pregnant with Cassie a few months later, Wilma beat the odds to finish school. She raised her daughter to think she could move mountains, like the ones that kept her safe but also isolated her from the larger world.
Cassie would spend much of her childhood with Granny and Ruth in the hills of Owsley County, both while Wilma was in college and after. With her “hill women” values guiding her, Cassie went on to graduate from Harvard Law. But while the Ivy League gave her knowledge and opportunities, its privileged world felt far from her reality, and she moved back home to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services.
Appalachian women face issues that are all too common: domestic violence, the opioid crisis, a world that seems more divided by the day. But they are also community leaders, keeping their towns together in the face of a system that continually fails them. With nuance and heart, Chambers uses these women’s stories paired with her own journey to break down the myth of the hillbilly and illuminate a region whose poor communities, especially women, can lead it into the future.
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This was a very informative, well written and fun story of the authors life, from grown up in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, to getting a law degree and trying to make a difference by helping the Hill women in the same area where she grew up.
Cassie Chambers, grew up in Owsley County which is one of the poorest counties in Kentucky, people worked hard, mainly coal mining or growing tobacco, but found it very hard to get ahead.
Cassies Grandmother was married young and was up everyday at the crack of dawn to raise her 7 children. One of her children was the authors mother, Wilma. Wilma was the only one to go to High school and then after that to college. Wilma was married at nineteen,to someone who also made education a priority.
When they had Cassie, Wilma went back to finish her education and Cassie spent a lot of time with her grandmother in Owsley County. There as a young girl she saw how strong, the hill women were. They were hard working, generous and loyal always willing to help someone in need, even though they did not have a lot.
Cassie was always told she could do anything she set her mind to, and as she grew older and having seen what her mothers education did for her, Cassie followed suit, coming back to Kentucky to visit as often as she could.
This story gives us a good look at what life was like in these small communities.
Excellent memoir, very worth reading.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the ARC of this book.
This book is an excellent rendition of life in Eastern Kentucky, told by the daughter and granddaughter of proud hill women of Appalachia. She is close enough to this place and its people to weave an accurate tale and far enough removed to see the truth of the people and how they live.
Part memoir and part loving tribute to Chambers’ mother, grandmother, and aunt, this work of nonfiction not only shows readers what life is like in the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky, but why it is the way it is.
A native of Eastern Arkansas myself, I’ve seen how people are affected by the severe shortage of jobs, access to medical care, and other services that many people take for granted. Chambers explains why people are rooted to the place they love even though that place does not serve them well and does not give them opportunities to thrive.
Just published, this is the March 2020 pick for my local library book club. I am looking forward to the insights shared during our meeting, both about the book and about similar lifestyles in poorer regions of the country.
This true story grabs you from the first page. It tells about life in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky. Have some just survive day today and how some go away and then try to come back and make a difference.
I received a free ARC electronic copy of this memoir from Netgalley, Cassie Chambers, and Random House – Ballantine Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this work of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains. This is a memoir I am happy to recommend to friends and family. I recognize all of the women in this work – from right here in the foothills of the high plains desert. So do we all if we were raised by strong, stubborn women.
Cassie Chambers is very frank in her look back, giving us all the notion that fitting in, though she did it very well, is not always a good idea. Most of us were feeling our way blindly into the world had we but known it then. You are going to love these ladies. And like me, you will recognize your Mom, or an Aunt, or Great Granny. We fortunate ones can thank them for helping us along the road to life.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I was eager to read this book after reading its description. I have learned a little bit about the Appalachian areas of Kentucky and West Virginia over the past two years as my own parents have been doing mission work there. The book helped open my eyes to the struggles faced by people in that area and the old ways of thinking that may never change. I saw a little glimpse of how my hometown could easily be mistaken for Booneville.
The author told a lot about her own schooling from a boarding school in New Mexico to the Ivy Leagues of Yale, Harvard and London. The author decided to bring politics into the story – this part I could definitely have done without.
I really wanted to love Hill Women but sadly it fell flat for me. My reaction was like a ping pong ball, bouncing between sorrow for the challenges that the family faced, admiration for the grit and determination it took to rise above that upbringing, intermixed with various bouts of boredom throughout, and finally distaste for the political ranting that ended the narrative.
Though a lot of the novel is about Cassie’s life what tugged at my heart was Cassie’s grandmother and her aunt, Ruth. I grew up poor myself, but I can’t even imagine the abject poverty and remoteness they faced. I love that Appalachian women believe in the value of hard work and this trait continues to be passed down from generation to generation. The first part of Hill Women was great! I loved hearing the backstory very much, and commend Cassie for fighting for the education that she sought, but the stories from her school days were tough to get through and I believe it’s because Cassie wrote it like a lawyer, and this style tends to be dry for me.
Although I did not enjoy this novel, I do believe the stories of the Appalachian Hill Women are tales that deserve to be told, and I commend Cassie for starting the conversation about this area and its unknown inhabitants, and for being brave enough to tell her own story. Everyone’s story deserves to be told.
*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.
An honest account of growing up in a hillbilly family.
What an amazing story of the women of the Appalachian. Their strength and dedicating will have you in awe and having deep respect for them. Yet this book also displays the injustices that affect the people in this area of the country. You will be heartbroken as you delve into their lives and see how difficult their lives are and all they endure on a daily basis.
This was a well written story that was delivered with passion and skill. Cassie’s tale is a fitting tribute to the women in her family and the strength they instilled in her.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley, but the review is my own.
I highly recommend this book. The topic is one I don’t have a particularly strong connection to (other than going to school in the hills of another Appalachian state, WV), but it is fascinating to learn about this micro history through the voice of someone who not only has lived this experience, but can translate it to an experience that I’m familiar with. I enjoyed reading about the author’s (& her family’s) journey. There is some political discussion, but given that it is both relevant (politicians routinely promise the world to these rural areas and then don’t do anything about it) and that the author is involved in a state political policy, I think that it makes sense for the memoir.
The story was engaging and really the best of what a memoir should be.
I really wanted to like this book. The story of the women of Appalachia sounded intriguing. It was really more about the author herself than the women who she says raised her. The most disappointing part of it was when it turned into a political rant. Not al all what I wanted to read. You’ll have to decide for yourself if it’s for you.
BOOK REVIEW
Hill Women by Cassie Chambers
Pub Date: January 7, 2020
304 pages
-DESCRIPTION-
A true story of Cassie Chambers, and the women in her family, growing up and loving in Owlsey County, one of the poorest counties in Kentucky.
-THOUGHTS-
1. I can understand why so many compare this to Hillbilly Elegy, however, this book is about strength and perseverance in spite of extreme poverty. Where HE was like a badly written research paper, this book is about Cassie and the profound sense of pride she has for Hill Women.
2. I really loved that the author showed all the bits and parts of each woman. Nothing was glossed over. Nobody was perfect, nor did she hide their imperfections.
3. I think it’s so easy for so many of us to judge. We do it constantly….and we especially judge those we see as less than. And let’s face it, we use money (or lack thereof) to be a big determiner of who is less than. Here is another book that we can add to a growing list that has us stopping our judgements and prejudices in their tracks.
-RATING-
4/5 stars
I recommend this book.
-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
Maid
Unfollow
The Sound of Gravel
The Strength of Rural Women Through Democrat Colored Lenses
This story has so many tendrils that I am surprised that the author could turn it into such a cohesive book. Her beginnings are the same as many of us. A rural background that was poor and subsistence only. Most of her community were raised with a fear of the outside world, no idea of what a good education could bring and a strong work ethic. Family, faith, and community were everything. One’s word is his bond and reputation means everything. The women are the source of strength in this world. The author follows her mother from this life to go to college and have a profession. She describes her two worlds quite well. The difference and its causes are very complex. Although my ancestors were not Kentucky coal miners or tobacco farmers, the roots and the lives are very much the same. I think that this similarity could be found in most families in the country. The sadness is in the conditions that help foster those who don’t get out and don’t eventually get ahead. The author also has several non-family members that are great examples of these tough, mountain women. The author then falls off a cliff and blames hundreds of years of problems on the 2016 election. So disappointing to find all of her narratives has been colored by being the vice-chair of the Democrat Party of Kentucky. I loved the book until that point. But, from then on it becomes a political rant espousing campaign rhetoric as Gospel truth. That is where I wonder about the truth of all of her narrative. At one point, she even states that she is telling a rumor she heard (page 185). She points out a Catholic nun who is Democrat and splits hairs on the abortion issue and being pro-life, not pro-birth. She then speaks of racism and sexism as being Republican traits and accepting Gay couples and transgender people as being Democrat traits. She counts people supporting Democrat candidates for local positions as a healing of the political divide. I found that so disappointing that I can’t recommend this book as a good history or as an examination of the lives of hill women. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.