I’m a transplant to Appalachia. However, the past 25 years I’ve lived in Southwest Virginia have taught me to love this land and its people. Emilee Hackney’s debut, All That’s Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir deftly portrays the beauty and the tragedy of this often criticized area. I enjoyed Hackney’s prose as well as her grace-filled portrayal of her upbringing.
Premise
In All That’s Unseen, Hackney offers a coming of age memoir that takes readers from the hollers of western Virginia coal fields to the busy streets of Cambridge, MA. Most of the memoir focuses on Hackney’s teen years. These included an engagement to an aspiring pastor (until he was arrested for child pornography) and her challenging undergraduate experience at Harvard.
Hackney skillfully melds words and memory to share her remarkable journey; I didn’t want to put the book down. I struggled alongside her, experiencing the religious fervor of Pentecostal worship as well as the dejection and despair of a lonely Harvard dorm room. My favorite part of All That’s Unseen is it’s concluding message of hope and acceptance.
What I like
Thought provoking descriptions and nuanced insights make All That’s Unseen a very enjoyable read. Here’s a great example of Hackney’s prose, when she describes her hard working father early in the book: “Dad’s feelings were revealed mostly in the space between his words. To understand him, you had to learn to read his silence.”
All That’s Unseen tackles difficult topics, like religion and politics, with grace and curiosity. Hackney portrays her fervent experience of the Holy Spirit during Pentecostal worship and her unfailing love of the Lord. Yet, she doesn’t shy away from sharing the shortcomings of her community. It encouraged her relationship with a controlling man five years her senior and suppressed discussion of his eventual arrest. On the political front, she describes her experience of the Trump era politics. She gives voice to her concerns about how much his administration fulfilled its promises to Appalachia and her attempts to share those concerns with friends and neighbors.
As a first generation college student at Harvard, Hackney experienced prejudice, loneliness, and incredible despair. This led her to unhealthy relationships with men. She was plagued by Impostor Syndrome, feeling like she didn’t deserve to be a such a prestigious school. Classmates and professors judged her based on her accent and her Carhart jacket. Yet, thanks to the encouragement of a few key faculty members, Hackney finally found validation and success. Her memoir is a direct result of that encouragement.
Finally, Hackney’s nuanced depiction of Appalachia is refreshing and hopeful. She highlights how Appalachian folks sacrifice for the people and ideals that they hold dear. She explains the highly valued notion of loyalty and why those who leave the area are sometimes seen as turning their backs on their kin. Without apology, she shares how industry and despair have preyed upon the people of Appalachia. I found the crux of her memoir near the end:
This is what I loved most about Appalachia; how easy it was to savor, to lose yourself in its bounty and beauty… Sometimes I was infatuated with the mountains, comforted by their constancy. Sometimes that constancy was stifling. Sometimes I was heartened by the hardiness of mountain people Sometimes I hated that there was so much adversity to persist against. My relationship with home was a pendulum of adoration and criticism that was difficult to balance, even knowing that good and bad could exist in the same space. (p. 360-361)
Recommendation
If you enjoy a good triumph story, or reading about Appalachia, I highly recommend All That’s Unseen. Please note it includes difficult topics, like church sanctioned “domestic discipline” as well as sexual activity. It is a very authentic, compelling depiction of one woman’s journey to grow beyond and yet still appreciate her home. Its message of compassion is perfect for this time of dissent and polarization.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
