I first became familiar with Beth Macy's writing when I read and reviewed her Dopesick a hard hitting expose about the devastation wrought on vulnerable communities by the opiate epidemic enabled by the greed and duplicity of Purdue Pharma. Readers were given much more than facts and statistics. We got intimate heartbreaking portrayals of the people who became addicted and their friends and family and communities, considered by its administration to be acceptable collateral damage.
In Paper Girl (as a child she delivered the local newspaper by bike) she uses her powers of observation and analysis to answer a deeply personal question--why had her hometown, Urbana, Ohio, declined so precipitously in the decades since she left. She also answers another question--why should those of us who live hundreds or even thousands of miles from Urbana care.
"In my hometown, the number of children living in poverty has more than tripled since I left. The number orphaned by the opioid crisis has tripled since 2015. After the jobs went away, heroin helped itself to my hometown, followed by fentanyl and meth. The result of that one-two punch has been a preponderance of trauma that is overtaxing every system meant to address it. 'Backward mobility,' economists call this devastating trend, exacerbated by the Great Recession."
Throughout the book readers meet the victims of this devastating trend. In one quite revealing thread Macy traces her life trajectory with that of a man who graduated from the same high school decades later. They both started out with similar challenges: poverty and family dysfunction. But she was able to break free thanks to a Pell grant that bankrolled her college education. His education was frequently interrupted by seemingly insurmountable financial obstacles.
But Urbana's challenges go way beyond financial ones. An abyss has opened between the rich who run things and the much less privileged whose needs are ignored by them. Social media disinformation and venom have spread faster than the most infectious of viruses. Distrust and resentment have eroded relationships between people and institutions, neighbors, and coworkers. There are unsafe subjects that can't be brought up even with close friends and family members.
It turns out that today's Urbana has a lot in common with other cities--maybe one close to where you live.
Macy gives a cogent analysis of the various factors contributing to the downward spiral. Paper Girl is an illuminating read for anyone wondering why life in America isn't what it used to be or if there's any way out of our current national downward spiral.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday Eugene did everything he could to make my mother's day purrrfect. He gave me đšs, a sweet grey đą, and a card. He took me on a road trip and bought me critters and earrings. He took me out for lunch. All my kids called. Amber and Brian came over with gifts. Now I have a copy of My Friends in Hell, a just dropped anthology Amber has a story in. Amber also gave me a once upon a book club package with a YA chiller and 3 gifts to open when I hit certain pages. But her best gift was an owl heating pad she made herself. We both really like đĻ s and give each other owl themed gifts. Katie and Adam called. I'll see them in two weeks. Even Mother Nature gave me a present, breaking out the sun for some glorious late afternoon outside reading.
A great big shout out goes out to my fabulous and fantastic family.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my Galaxy
