Apr 23, 2019
8 min read
A Requiem for Appalachia
How 2016 permanently damaged my relationship to my home, my family, and my roots.
It was the day after the election in 2016, and I was talking to my Mom. “I’m sorry that your candidate lost,” she said, “and I know how sad you must be. But I want you to know that no matter what that we’re still family.”
Coming from my staunchly Republican mother, this was an olive branch, and in better circumstances I might have been more willing to receive it in the spirit with which it was no doubt intended. However, I was…
