I spend all of yesterday devouring Neema Avashia’s excellent Another Appalachia, which is as much a sister to the book I’m writing as any book could be. In it, Avashia explores growing up both Indian and queer in West Virginia, and the ways in which her identities push and pull against one another.
Like Avashia, I’ve been asked by puzzled people from other places how we came to be in West Virginia. It seems the public imagination of Appalachia in general, and West Virginia—perhaps because we have no large cities—in particular, as a place only white Protestants live. And that’s understandable. When outlets like the New York Times or the Washington Post feature West Virginia, they focus exclusively on the people who fit their stereotype of Appalachians. In a strange way, this creates rather than reflects the understanding some white Protestant Appalachians have of being the only “real” Appalachians. Avashia’s book does a wonderful job troubling that idea. How many of us both embrace being from the region and still struggle with the idea of being of it because we aren’t who is expected?
I love the book, and I think you will too. You can buy it here from WVU Press, or from wherever you buy your books:
https://wvupressonline.com/node/903
Sarah
Amen sister!