Hill Women

Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains

By: Cassie Chambers

Narrated by: Cassie Chambers

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 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' 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 19 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.

©2020 Cassie Chambers (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Women in Kentucky’s Appalachian community come into focus in lawyer Chambers’s powerful debut memoir, which aims to put a human face on a stereotyped region.... This is a passionate memoir, one that honors Appalachia’s residents." (Publishers Weekly)

"A family memoir that celebrates the inspiration of strong women within a rural culture most often characterized as patriarchal... [Chambers tells] stories that illuminate the hardworking spirit and flashes of hope among the populace, the women in particular." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Hill Women is a gritty, warm love letter to Appalachian communities and the resourceful womenwho lead them.... [It] feels especially urgent now, in our post-2016, post - Hillbilly ElegyAmerica. In a sense, Chambers is responding to the ‘bootstraps’ narrative of J. D. Vance’s controversial memoir, which has been criticized for blaming Appalachians for their own circumstances. Hill Women shows an Appalachia that Hillbilly Elegy obscured.” (Slate)

A tale of our family’s beginnings!

I married an Owsley over 50 years ago and first heard about Owsley county about 20 years later when a friend was doing genealogy for us. It peaked my interest and that of my children. In the last several years 2 of my kids have visited the area. This amazing book, however is the first real peak we’ve had into the fascinating story of the people that shaped us. I enjoyed every word and cried more than a little bit with the family’s losses and the hill people’s struggles. Thank you so much for giving this next generation of Owsley’s a glimpse of what they came from and a vision of what they may strive for. Rebecca Owsley

Disappointing

I enjoyed the book until the author started her Ivy League education. From there on I felt I was being lectured to by a community organizer. I kept fast forwarding to find more actual stories, finally gave up and moved on to another selection. My family is from Tennessee poverty and we don't whine about everything like this author. Life isn't fair, you got out good for you. Nope. sorry other reviewers. This was nothing as entertaining or enlightening as Hillbilly Eegy.

Tennessee

very accurate telling the story of rural life in the appalachian mountains,felt like my family story

Truly enjoyable

Loved the opportunity to get a glimpse of the complexity of being a women from Appalachia.

awesome story

kept seeing this book come up periodically, looked interesting. I enjoyed the book. And the narration, the deflection and the accents.

The importance of our roots-and her pride

One of the best books I have read about Appalachia- so good to read about how proud she was of her roots and how it made her into who she was and what she did to help her people. A positive story!!!!

The shoulders upon which we stood..they lifted us up!

I choose to read this book because my family comes from Appalachia and I know Hill Women. I have seen their struggle, their grit, their strength, their fire and felt their love..still feel it today. I am deeply grateful that I came from that subculture. It made me very strong! When I finished my dissertation for my PhD, I dedicated it to my mother because it was her shoulders upon which I stood. She lifted me up!

Highly recommend

great picture of Appalachian people and the struggle to provide legal services in rural areas.

Strong Women

My mothers side of the family is from Eastern Kentucky so this story resonated with me. It also reminded me of all the stories of the women before me paving the way for me to have a better life.

Rich story, but includes some false guilt.

Rich story and excellent narration but I can’t help feeling sorry for the author.
Cassie is given so much- strong family, deep community, rich heritage, great examples of a work ethic AND the opportunity to get an education that allows her independence and great income.
Those things she acknowledges and is grateful.

Yet there are so many inconsistencies from the liberal mindset about education and success.
For example, she talks about how men having more power at Harvard and how women are still not represented as they should while JUST having transferred from Wellesley College, an all girls college that does not allow men to enroll. The hypocrisy. The liberal higher education system has lead her to feel guilty (she uses that word several times throughout)- as if being financially successful is a bad thing. No. It is not a bad thing no matter what is taught in these very expensive schools.
I can’t help feel bad for the manipulated guilt that has been placed on this generation that somehow their good decisions are wrong.
And are there things that improve in this area of the country, yes. But false guilt does not change a thing… it just steals joy.

The commitment to family is strong in this book. Hard work, community and love are painted in well articulated stories. A good read.