“This book tells what it means to be a woman when you are poor, when you are proud, and when you are a hillbilly.” First published in 1973, Skye Moody’s Hillbilly Women shares the stunning and raw oral histories of nineteen women in twentieth-century Southern Appalachia, from their day-to-day struggles for survival to the personal triumphs of their hardscrabble existence. They are wives, widows, … are wives, widows, and daughters of coal miners; factory hands, tobacco graders, cotton mill workers, and farmers; and women who value honest labor, self-esteem, and dignity. Shining a much-needed light into a misunderstood culture and identity, the stories within reflect the universally human struggle to live meaningful and dignified lives.
Updated with a new introduction and material from the author.
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First published in 1973, this book does cover a lot of pre-union coal miners. Don’t let that dissuade you from reading it though. This is a book everyone needs to read to get a glimpse of hard scrabble Appalachian life.
Reading this book during the COVID-19 pandemic makes it more relevant than ever. This book of stories in their own words of the people of Appalachia in the 1960s is reminiscent of the age of Robber Barons during the industrial revolution. It is a lesson not to be forgotten that corporate greed is still with us today and workers must constantly fight for their rights to be paid decent for their labors, have their health protected from on the job dangers, and fight against those mega companies that would abuse them while the government run by lobbyists looks the other way. Today we see “essential” workers in much the same boat as those Appalachian coal miners, cotton mill workers and farm workers risking their health and lives to keep a system running that has little regard for them as human beings.
This book grabbed and held my attention. It was, for me, a page turner. Was there anything annoying? Yes, a couple of things were. That was how we went to four stars. Was it true to life? No but, if I want true to life, I am educated enough to know you need to leave fiction behind and look in nonfiction or possibly true crime. I wanted to escape into a fantasy. I like to suspend reality and dive into a world where anything is possible..even bad things. If I’m going to read fiction hoping for a white knuckle thrill or hard to breathe, edge of the seat scare, then I’m leaving reality for another book.
Monsters can be scary because you recognize them right away. They are off enough for you to see it but normal enough for you to think you could be wrong. Sometimes normal hides abnormal. Sometimes people make mistakes because they believe they are incapable of making them. Sometimes people make mistakes, a bad decision or two, and it changes things. People do, say and think in different ways. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
This book had me scared for Jay, for Darby. Heck, possibly for other characters, at one point or another. Did I like them all? Not really. But that’s the thing about being trapped with strangers. You don’t get to pick strangers you like and immediately trust. You get what you get. I love the twists that came, even when I suspected where it may go. I didn’t have it exact so I was still surprised. There was a lot of action and a fair bit of waiting. It worked for me. I was tense. I was anxious. I was glued to the book. Even when I took a breather, I was anxious to get back to the story. Don’t start this book without the time to finish it, just in case you find yourself like me.
I’d also like to thank the author for the teaching moment. I really love when I learn something new. I can’t go more into that, as it’s a twist for you to discover.
I learnt so much about “Hillbilly” culture and it certainly broke through all of my preconceptions. I was deeply inspired by the courage, fortitude and profound wisdom of many of these women.