Hillbilly Heroin(E) Lauren Audrey Tussey [email protected]

Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2015 Hillbilly heroin(e) Lauren Audrey Tussey [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Appalachian Studies Commons, and the Nonfiction Commons Recommended Citation Tussey, Lauren Audrey, "Hillbilly heroin(e)" (2015). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. Paper 960. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HILLBILLY HEROIN(E) A thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English by Lauren Audrey Tussey Approved by Dr. Rachael Peckham, Committee Chairperson Dr. Carrie Oeding Dr. Cody Lumpkin Marshall University December 2015 ii Lauren Audrey Tussey ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The literary journal Pithead Chapel possesses First Serial Rights and nonexclusive Electronic Archival Rights to “Father’s Fence” as of June 2015. iv DEDICATIONS This work is dedicated to my mother, Laura Tussey, who has always been a brilliant inspiration to me through her strength and wisdom; and to my mentors, Rachael Peckham and A.E. Stringer, who have guided me through my education and provided me with the skills I needed to find my voice. I appreciate you all. v The following manuscript is a work of creative nonfiction. Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved. vi TRIMMING THE FAMILY TREE Original Artwork by Katie Rabalais vii CONTENTS Trimming the Family Tree ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------vii Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ix These Women Remain: Voice & Power in Appalachia--------------------------------------------------1 Father’s Fence------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 3407 (1/2) Spring Street-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29 Sticky Fingers------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------37 Meat-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------47 The Art of Dying---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63 Small Town Politics: Election Day 2014, Northeastern Kentucky------------------------------------81 The Last Word-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------93 Works Cited--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------95 Appendix A: Letter from Institutional Research Board------------------------------------------------97 viii ABSTRACT As a native to this region and a writer I have spent much of my life attempting to capture a unique aesthetic of what I see through my essays and poetry. The following thesis is a manuscript of nonfiction essays with a critical introduction and conclusion that work together to provide a cohesive narrative centered in the Appalachian region. Through place specific imagery and implementation of regional dialect, and a narrative lens, my collection reveals an aesthetic of the rapidly expanding genre of Appalachian Literature. By exposing the patriarchal structures present in the region and emphasizing issues such as domestic abuse and drug addiction juxtaposed with strong family ties and a deep, tangible pride for my heritage, I attempt to provide a complex view of my home. As the collective narrative of my manuscript unfolds, the reader is introduced to my Papaw and learns that his siblings played a rather tense role in his life and ultimate death. Despite their roles in his death, my mother and I were expected to keep positive ties with the family. By emphasizing the importance of family structures within the region, my essays demonstrate the dichotomy of the undeniable power and culturally inflicted powerlessness of Appalachian women today. In my critical introduction, I provide insight as to how Appalachian women can find their unique voices through education and writing and use those voices to speak their own truths, whether those truths speak to power or speak to uphold the power. ix THESE WOMEN REMAIN: VOICE & POWER IN APPALACHIA As an Appalachian woman, I am all too aware of the stigma that accompanies claiming personage to this region. Our people are met with a barrage of stereotypes by mainstream culture that dictate how we are viewed and how we view ourselves. In conjunction with the social tensions caused by this stereotyping, there exists a sort of “double-think” where women are simultaneously revered for their strength yet made powerless by the traditional patriarchal structures that dominate the region. The dichotomy functions through socioeconomic dependencies and the influence of the family, which can frequently project a clan-like groupthink that perpetuates patriarchal ideals by informing young women that they are subservient to the men in their lives and their elders. Many of these elders can be strong matriarchal figures despite the patriarchal proclivities of the culture. Though these young women are expected to be submissive they are still required to exert strength when they transcend into the matriarchy either through age or necessity. Often, the women of Appalachia translate this message of submission into a silent strength in which they internalize their emotions and the emotions of others. Symptoms of this type of patriarchal climate include a loss of voice and power and a desire to seek a patriarch if none is present. As a young, Millennial, Appalachian woman I have been steeped in this culture as well as the culture of third wave feminism; therefore I am compelled to attempt to speak truth to the patriarchal powers that I witness. My experiences in navigating the regional patriarchy have led me to wonder how other Appalachian women might find their voices and use those voices to speak truth to the culturally ingrained patriarchal power in hopes that I might be able to intellectualize my own process. My thesis, which follows this short critical and cultural analysis, is a manuscript of nonfiction essays that work together to provide a cohesive narrative centered in the Appalachian 1 region. By utilizing place specific imagery and my regional dialect, my collection provides a new insight into the aesthetic of my region and the rapidly expanding genre of Appalachian Literature. The essays of this manuscript work to navigate the climate of the Appalachian patriarchy by unpacking the concept of the Appalachia homeplace and they inquire as to why women seem to remain in living situations where they are abused. These essays shed insight on the “double think” present in the region, which juxtaposes deeply entrenched patriarchal structures, that have their roots in “blue-collar” issues of socioeconomics against strong matriarchal influences, which stem from the concept of “combative motherhood” that occurs when women must fight oppressive powers to maintain a sense of normalcy for their children. My essays demonstrate the dichotomy of the undeniable power and culturally inflicted powerlessness of Appalachian women still today. Many of our people are viewed as poor, uneducated, lazy, racist, lacking personal hygiene, and the like, by the dominant culture. We are perceived as existing on the periphery of the dominant culture as subalterns, lower than, occupying a space in between, a space other than that of mainstream America. The dominant American society is invested in creating subcultural groups such as the popular mythologized version of Appalachia, because it defines what mainstream America is not. As Ronald D. Eller notes in Uneven Ground: Appalachia Since 1945, Appalachia “is the ‘other America’ because the very idea of Appalachia convinces us of the righteousness of [mainstream America’s] own lives” (3). This tactic of compartmentalizing the people of Appalachia in their own subcultural group establishes the region “as a separate place, a region set off from mainstream culture and history, [which] has allowed us to distance ourselves from the uncomfortable dilemmas that the story of Appalachia raises about our own lives and about the larger society” (Eller 3). The notion of distancing oneself from a group of 2 people as an act of defining identity based on contrast crafts a narrative that divides the rest of the country from Appalachia. Moreover, Appalachia is treated as an extraction region where our natural resources are mined out for the rest of the country at grave environmental and human costs. Growing up in this region, one encounters no shortage of tragic stories about trapped miners or devastated land, yet the major corporations are rarely held responsible for these acts. Eller attributes this abuse of the Appalachian people and landscape to the: “diversity that is modern Appalachia [which] belies a growing gap between the rich and poor, and [ignores] the continuing sacrifice of Appalachian resources and people for the comfort and prosperity of the rest of the nation” (5). Essentially, much of the economic wealth produced in Appalachia is never seen by the locals who largely

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