Helen Matthews Lewis

"My appreciation for the depth and breadth of Helen Lewis' thinking, though always great, has been even more intensified by my study of this book."—Dwight Billings, coauthor of The Road to Poverty: The Making of Wealth and Hardship

Winner of the Appalachian Writers Association's Book of the Year Award for Nonfiction

"This rich collection of memories, photographs, commentaries, and archival documents is an exemplary weave of history and biography—the lived story of Appalachian social movements over much of the twentieth century. The sweeping chronicle of Helen Lewis's actions and words reveals how she continues to make history by living social justice and refusing to capitulate to unjust power. The lessons could not be more timely, instructive, and inspiring."—Barbara Ellen Smith, author of Neither Separate Nor Equal: Women, Race and Class in the South

"It is one thing to speak truth to power. Helen does that with intelligence and wit — to southern segregationists, coal companies, and academic institutions. It's another thing to speak truth with the powerless. On nearly every page of this wonderful book, Helen combines her commitment to those who lack power with trust in their agency. She breaks into the unruly and uncontainable, and wraps 'the belt of truth around our waist.'"—Anne Lewis, director of Morristown: in the air and sun

"In showcasing Helen Matthews Lewis, Beaver and Jennings remind us that an individual impassioned to do the right thing will make a positive difference. . . . the editors have also offered us Lewis' legacy as a challenge to examine our own roles vis-a-vis committing to transform our communities."—Courier-Journal

"Lewis has achieved the status of an icon among Appalachian activists and scholars. . . . An important book."—Appalachian Heritage

"Brings together in one volume Lewis's many contributions to Appalachian Studies. . . . The book reveals the breadth and depth of scholarship and activism in Appalachia and will no doubt become a classic."—West Virginia History

"Provides a more intimate insight into her life and her impact on people and society than a more formal portrait could. . . . Recommended."—Choice

"A fitting tribute to a woman who deserves greater acknowledgment and appreciation for her lifetime of work in Appalachia and for the betterment of struggling communities everywhere...The work is a success."—Joseph Witt-, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics

"Like a patchwork quilt, this book pieces together Ms. Lewis's interviews, speeches, and publications drawn from a variety of sources. Her work reads as a story of empowerment, conceptualization, and study of Appalachian issues rather than as a straightforward biography of Helen M. Lewis."—Georgia Library Quarterly

"Reading the words of Lewis and those who worked with her over the years is an inspiration. She gives us a new conceptual framework for working with communities instead of working for them. That framework is especially needed in our polarized country today, especially for those living and working in Appalachia."—You, Me, and Books