All that's unseen : an Appalachian memoir / Emilee Hackney.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In her luminous debut, Emilee Hackney offers both a love letter to and a reckoning of the place that made her--a story of losing her faith, finding her way back to her Appalachian home, and discovering what endures

Born and raised deep in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains, Emilee Hackney knew little beyond the ridgelines and coalfields of southwest Virginia. As an eighth-generation Appalachian, her childhood was steeped in the stories of her grandparents--tales of the coal mines' brutal grip and the way the land, both beautiful and unforgiving, never quite let anyone go. At fourteen, Emilee meets Sam, a senior at her high school, who offers her a glimpse at a promising future together. But as they begin attending services at Deliverance Christian Church as a couple, Emilee is thrust into the radical realm of Pentecostalism. In a culture where marriage at nineteen isn't uncommon, Emilee is engaged to Sam. Eager to make her relationship work, she embraces the extremist doctrines of the religion, submitting herself fully to God, to Sam, and to a life of repentance. But what she doesn't yet know is the man she plans to marry is not who he claims to be.

Years later, Emilee finds herself isolated from friends, family, and her own sense of truth. Wracked with shame and self-doubt, she reaches a breaking point. On the verge of spiraling out of control, in a stunning act of defiance and hope, she applies to Harvard; against all odds, she is accepted. From the magisterial mountains of Tazewell to the storied halls of Cambridge, Emilee begins the arduous process of reinventing herself and her relationships with her home, faith, and values against the backdrop of the divisive 2016 election. All That's Unseen is Emilee Hackney's fiercely honest memoir about spiritual entrapment, hard-won liberation, and the courage to reclaim her voice after she had been taught to stay silent.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Hackney grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. As a teenager, she watched daily life in the area grow more precarious as the coal industry declined and while she mourned family losses. Hackney contemplated salvation and sought religion in a Pentecostal church, where she became preoccupied with projecting a holy image and avoiding secular influences. At 14, she began dating Sam, a senior at her high school. To make their relationship work, she embraced her religion's extremist doctrines. Then she realized that her husband-to-be wasn't who he claimed to be. After a crisis, she felt that God no longer spoke to her, and her faith wavered. She applied to Harvard on a whim and was accepted. She struggled to adjust to life in the bustling metropolitan city of Cambridge. Hackney felt judged by the Harvard community for her accent and hometown, but she discovered she no longer fully belonged in Appalachia when she returned home. Hackney's exploration of the complexities of identity and perspective is tied to her shifting faith journey and her experience of leaving home for the first time. VERDICT This debut memoir will resonate with readers who struggle with faith, identity, and belonging.--Rebekah Kati

Publishers Weekly Review

Harvard graduate Hackney debuts with a thought-provoking account of her early life in Appalachian Virginia, which was characterized by lush landscapes, financial hardship, and church. At 15, the latter provided a wholesome cover for Hackney to see Sam, her boyfriend who was three years older and whom her parents disliked. When Sam grew sincere in his Pentecostal faith, Hackney followed suit: the Bible encouraged women to obey men, she reasoned, and she loved the warm, safe feeling she found in prayer. Soon, Hackney and Sam made plans to marry, but their path was cut short when Sam was arrested for possession of child pornography. In the aftermath, Hackney rebelled, dressing in skimpy clothing, embarking on a romance with a sweet burnout coworker at Subway, and applying to Harvard, from which she graduated in 2020. Her classmates at Harvard saw her as an exotic creature from a shameful corner of the country, and Hackney unexpectedly found herself defending her mountain home--despite her creeping sense that she'd outgrown it. Hackney examines the explosive intersection of charismatic Christianity, misogyny, and young love, and offers an inspiring testament to writing one's way out. This heartfelt missive successfully humanizes hot-button subjects. Agent: Amanda Urban, CAA. (July)

Booklist Review

Appalachia is a polarizing place. Many media representations depict it as poverty-ridden and depressing, a place people stay if they have no other options. It's also home to beautiful rolling hills and tight-knit groups of people who band together through tough times. Hackney, who grew up in Tazewell, Virginia, part of Appalachian coal country, has written a compelling memoir that documents her family's history as well as her experiences growing up. Her identity is ever-changing: she goes from being a conservative Christian to a wild child to, when finally leaving her home, a Harvard undergraduate. At Harvard, she struggles at first with some cultural clashes but ultimately carves a place for herself in Cambridge, though her roots call her back. Hackney writes as though readers are sitting at a coffee shop talking to an old friend; her irrepressible spirit and drive to make something of her life making her instantly relatable. She paints a picture of Appalachia that counters its mainstream media gloom without shying away from portraying the area's problems, bringing a refreshing blend of realism and hope.

Kirkus Book Review

Thoughtful memoir of a forgotten corner of forgotten Appalachia. The holler in southwestern Virginia in which Hackney grew up is but a small part of "a place undefinable, so worn and wild, that had been stripped and scavenged and shaken and robbed, yet never conceded to the forces that tried to hold it down." But, she makes clear, if there's a stubborn pride to it, then the whole region is shadowed by a sense of hopelessness. Her first book is full of both moods. An intelligent girl encouraged by her mother, who listened to NPR, and her father, hardworking, poor, and a creationist, young Hackney embraces a death-haunted kind of fundamentalism: "Terrifying, this God…who was everywhere, always, with the weight of eternity behind his crushing presence." She winds up engaged to an older man, bound for the life of a subservient tradwife until, shortly before the marriage, her betrothed is arrested for possession of child pornography. Already seen as something of an outsider in her own home, in part for not being sufficiently enthusiastic about MAGA ("Choosing not to vote for Trump was one of the more deliberate choices I made"), Hackney keeps her nose down, working minimum-wage jobs until daring to apply to Harvard and being accepted, tantamount to "sayingyou're not good enough for me to the people and places that raised you." The educational adventure she recounts includes surprising and sometimes even shocking turns, while her visits home provoke both alienation and a determination to speak up for her home and its people, victims of eternal exploitation: "Outsiders come in, make promises they never intend to keep, and use us for their own gain." Hackney's memoir runs long, with many variations on a few themes, but, overall, it makes a fine rejoinder and update to Harry Caudill, James Agee, and other chroniclers of Appalachia. A lucid portrait and defense of a region too often caricatured but little understood. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.