Cassie Chambers Libros

Set against the backdrop of Owsley County, Kentucky, the narrative explores the resilience of women in a region grappling with economic decline. Chambers reflects on her upbringing among these strong women, highlighting their resourcefulness as they navigate life in the Appalachian mountains. After graduating from Harvard Law, she returns to provide free legal services, challenging stereotypes and showcasing the potential of rural communities, particularly women, as catalysts for change and progress in their region.

Nestled in the Appalachian mountains, Owsley County is the poorest county in Kentucky and the second poorest in 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. Chambers grew up amidst these hollers, and through the women who raised her, she traces her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. With her "hill women" values guiding her, Chambers graduated from Harvard Law, but moved back home to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services. Here she breaks down the myth of the "hillbilly" and illuminates a region whose poor communities, especially women, can lead it into the future. -- adapted from jacket