Appalachian Heart: Oral Histories of the Mountain Elders - Paperback

by Lynn Coffey (Author)

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do withoutIn the western highlands of Virginia, the last generation of mountain people continue to live where their ancestors have lived for hundreds of years. Although they now have the amenities of basic living, such as electricity, telephones, and indoor plumbing, these hearty Appalachian folk remember what life was like before such luxuries.Reminiscent of the ever-popular Foxfire books of the 1970s, Appalachian Heart documents the oral histories of nineteen elders still living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia who made the above motto the watchword of their lives.Lynn Coffey captures the heart and soul of the hearty Appalachian natives who grew up in isolated hollows, far removed from the modern world and all its demands.Her in-depth interviews quietly dispel the media's inaccurate stereotype of the mountain people and bring to the forefront their resourcefulness, generosity and humor as well as giving the reader a peek into a disappearing and private culture that most are not privy to. Read thoughtfully the words of those who lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains and made quiet history that will never again be replicated. A must-read for those longing for a simpler way of life and a modicum of self-sufficiency

Author Biography

As a young girl growing up along the gold coast of Florida, Lynn always had a Waldenish bent toward the old ways and longed to live a simplistic lifestyle in the mountains, far from the flatlands of her home state. Her dream came true in 1980 when she moved to the tiny hamlet of Love, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Realizing the elderly neighbors living around her and their unique culture was slowly ebbing away, Lynn thought there must be a way to capture the existing Appalachian lifestyle before it disappeared altogether. With no prior experience in journalism, she began publishing a monthly newspaper called Backroads that chronicled the customs and activities of the native mountain people she had grown to love; the people who mentored her and taught her their ways. Backroads carved out a folksy niche, having a twenty-five year run before Lynn retired in 2006. But the mountain people's pleas, "Don't let our stories die with your retirement", compelled Lynn to start writing five books about the vanishing and oft-misunderstood people of her area. Lynn's fourth book in the Backroads series, entitled Appalachian Heart, records the oral histories of nineteen native people still living in the vicinity of Love where the author makes her home. All five books may be viewed on Lynn's web-site at www.backroadsbooks.com. Lynn is happily married to Billy Coffey, a rugged native of Love, Virginia, who is also a Baptist minister and they continue to live the simple life on their mountaintop farm. They have five children, six grandchildren and are expecting their first great-grandchild in December of 2015.