Born and raised deep in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains, Emilee Hackney knew little beyond the ridgelines and coalfields of southwest Virginia. All That’s Unseen is Hackney’s memoir about spiritual entrapment, hard-won liberation, and the courage to reclaim her voice after she had been taught to stay silent.
Harvard graduate Hackney debuts with a thought-provoking account of her early life in Appalachian Virginia ... 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.
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.
