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Anatomy of Resilience, April 10, 2009
Racheal Kamarazov
There are countless pathways to "Coming of Age". Some involve active physical challenge, others require patience and endurance. In Judy Harwood's memoir, "Swimming Upriver - Coming of Age in Appalachia", the river near her childhood home serves as a metaphor for the growing up process and the personal experiences of herself and the people in her world. Just as the river sometimes meanders along at a calm pace, at other times becomes turbulent, dangerous and destructive, so do the dynamics in family relationships shift abruptly between being reliable and supportive to turning untrustworthy and even punishing. This is the story of five generations of the author's family and the challenges they face in their strivings for stability and success, in both economic and relationship domains. The main focus is on her grandparents, parents, and herself and her six siblings. Though the setting is culture-specific, the themes are universal. Thus, while many readers may find the current of "old time religion" in the lives of the people and the community to be somewhat quaint or even alien, their financial struggles,interpersonal conflicts, triumphs and setbacks, hopes and disappointments are experiences to which we can all relate. There are several chapters which could stand alone as complete short stories. My favorite is the account of the family's acquiring its first television set and being able=2 0to get only "snow" on the screen. She describes how she climbed the highest hill near their house, along with her father, brothers and sisters, to plant the antenna a the very top, then run insulated wire back down to the house, through the dining room window, to the TV. Another is her experience of reaching a pinnacle of success at her high school graduation, only to have it eclipsed by the needs of others in her family, and having no one to witness and share her moment in the sun. The experiences of adolescent awakenings and angst are portrayed with both drama and sensitivity. The natural disasters and the parental fallibilities are presented with gritty authenticity. Reaching the conclusion of the book, this reader wished for the opportunity to accompany the family into yet the next generation. I highly recommend this book to all who have a serious investment in real peole and real experiences.
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A Memoir You'll Remember, April 30, 2009
Judy Harwood opens her memoir, Swimming Upriver: Coming of Age in Appalachia, with such unique character names (Mintie Wrae, Merzie, Don Carlos) coupled with sound narrative storytelling: "Something warned her to leave the edge of the cornfield where she had been picking raspberries for the past half-hour. A sensation, centered in her stomach, like a fish flipping out of water, interrupted her lazy, mindless harvest of June's fruit." Lines like these hook the reader with a certain suspense that propels us into the family story arc that spans four generations.
Set in eastern Kentucky in the heart of the Appalachian coal mining culture, Swimming Upriver: Coming of Age in Appalachia captures the unsteady, hardscrabble lifestyle of people who work close to the land. From pure innocence to engaging intrigue, Swimming Upriver: Coming of Age in Appalachia includes everything a bestselling memoir should: secrets, shame, deceit, denial, love, laughter, resourcefulness and resiliency. A reader can't help but be smitten by the charming characters who navigate the changes that move them from backwoods isolation into tentative participation in the 20th century. Is father Don Carlos a charmer or a charlatan? Is mother Willa Mae longsuffering or lackadaisical? Questions like these keep the reader engaged and interested page after page.
Ultimately Swimming Upriver: Coming of Age in Appalachia is a family's coming-of-age story in a place where growing up poor is a given. Harwood makes good use of the river that runs through the valley where she grew up, turning it into a metaphor that parallels the determination required to survive the raw hardluck this family of 9 endures.
Reading Part III, my heart hurt, then sang, as Harwood reveals the discomfort, then moments of joy that accompany her journey to maturation. Readers who enjoyed The Walton's TV show, Homer Hickman's Rocket Boys, or a poignant dose of nostalgic history will appreciate every aspect of Swimming Upriver: Coming of Age in Appalachia. |
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Eric_L
Swimming Upriver by Judy Harwood
Reader Rating
Posted April 22, 2009, 1:52 PM EST: After completing Swimming Upriver I have to say a loud ,"Wow!" Ms. Harwood did not just write a cute memoir book about growing up in the mountains (although those are fun reading, too, and if she chooses to do so in the future, it would be a great companion to this work). To say that Swimming Upriver was a wonderful, contemplative tale about the struggles of an Appalachian family during the first part of the last century would be an understatement. It was that and much more. It was a narrative that moved swiftly, giving glimpses into the history of the hill-country such as interesting community get-togethers, the educational system of the day, and even touching on ancient Indian legends of the area. There were many times I found myself riveted to the story and disappointed when my circumstances demanded that I had to put it down. It was much deeper than I expected and I became very interested as the plot unfolded. I felt like I came to know the characters intimately and cared about what was happening to them. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and am now sad that it is over. I'm looking forward to reading it through all over again! Do yourself a favor and read Swimming Upriver. You'll be glad you did!
Robert Black
Swimming Upriver. It starts with some fascinating background material on Judy’s great grandparents, grandparents, and parents. This sets the stage for Judy’s birth and early years growing up in eastern Kentucky. Things were not easy for the family. Times were changing and jobs were difficult to come by.
Judy’s book contains many, many interesting and moving anecdotes, including happy and heartwarming ones along with others not so happy. The reader comes away with a sense of what it was like to grow up in Appalachi
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