Uncovering Appalachia’s Hidden Heroines: Pauletta Hansel Reveals Untold Stories in Understory
Like Pauletta, I have Appalachian ancestry. She grew up in southeastern Kentucky. I grew up in southwestern Missouri, raised by and influenced by Kentuckians. Neither of us live in Appalachia now, but we are always, in some ways, going home.
While driving about, the folks on the radio talked of the ‘thin veil’ between the spirit world, which happens right after Halloween, according to some. The day is gloomy and misty. Leaves are falling, sticking to pavement. They said something about spirits being ‘available’ always, that no one has ‘go anywhere’ to converse with them. That’s what I think Pauletta is doing in Understory. She went to storyland to converse with her ancestors. Whether that is under or over or between, she went there, and she took me along, in the pages, and in my heart.
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