Echoes of Appalachia
“Stories, culture, and memories from the heart of Appalachia.”
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recent posts
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Why Homelessness in Appalachia Reached a Breaking Point in 2024 and 2025
- Immigrants and Appalachia: The Hidden Story That Built a Mountain Civilization
- Urban Appalachia: Rural Memory Inside the Modern City
- My New Book Has Been Published
- Beyond Appalachia: Venerable Monks, the Walk For Peace, and a Nation Searching for Common Ground
about
Author: Tim Carmichael
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The “Big Beautiful Bill” is being celebrated by some in Washington as a win, while for people in Appalachia, it feels like a quiet attack. Hidden in the details are changes that could take food off tables, cut off internet access, and make life even harder for families already living on the edge. Most people…
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J.D. Vance became a household name by selling a story of struggle from Appalachia. A self-made man who rose from poverty and chaos to political power, his memoir Hillbilly Elegy turned into a bestseller, a Netflix movie, and the foundation of his political career. But for many who come from the same hills and hollers…
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Today, the Senate passed what it has dubbed The One Big Beautiful Bill, sending it back to Congress for final approval. While the bill is being hailed by some as a landmark achievement, the reality for many Appalachians is far less optimistic. Underneath the glossy rhetoric, the legislation threatens to deepen existing hardships for rural…
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A healthcare catastrophe is quietly unfolding, and Appalachia may soon be one of the hardest-hit regions in America. The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” now moving rapidly through Congress, is expected to eliminate Medicaid coverage for a staggering 12.8 million people. While backers of the bill claim it targets undocumented immigrants and welfare abuse, the numbers…
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The “Big Beautiful Bill” has been promoted as a bold step toward economic revival, promising new jobs, improved infrastructure, and prosperity for struggling regions like Appalachia. But beneath these shiny promises lies a troubling reality: this legislation largely caters to wealthy corporations and investors while cutting critical support systems that millions of Appalachian families depend…
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The road into one Appalachian County winds through dense forest and past old mining sites now covered in second-growth poplar. Land that once belonged to small farmers and coal families is changing hands, and the buyers aren’t from nearby. Signs are going up along familiar paths: private property, no trespassing, access by permit only. People…
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The Trump administration has moved to open 80,000 acres of public land in Virginia and Tennessee to logging and road construction. This land includes parts of North Fork Pound and Seng Mountain in Virginia, along with Flint Mill and Rogers Ridge in Tennessee. These areas lie within the George Washington, Jefferson, and Cherokee National Forests.…
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There’s a story passed around about the people of Appalachia. It gets told by outsiders with a crooked smile, by policymakers with no stake in the outcome, and even by folks here who’ve heard it long enough to believe it. The story says we like to take care of our own. That we don’t want…
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There was a time when the church was the heartbeat of Appalachian life. Families gathered on Sundays for sermons, but also for soup dinners, quilting circles, and shared song. Pews filled with tired coal miners, young mothers, retired teachers and farmers. It didn’t matter what one’s political view was, or if their coat had holes.…
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In Tennessee, our representatives walk into government buildings and claim to speak for us. Then they vote in ways that go against what we need. They say they’re working for the people, but who are they really working for? It is clear they are serving money, lobbyists, and political machines that care nothing for the…
Echoes of Appalachia 