Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has reported for The New York Times, Harper's, the Guardian, and many other publications. Her first book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her second book, She Come by It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Smarsh is a frequent political commentator and speaker on socioeconomic class. She lives in Kansas.
One of Time's Top 100 Must Reads of 2020 "Parton is endlessly
quotable and fun to read about, but [She Come By It Natural] is
also enriched by its glimpses into Smarsh's Kansan family. . .
Knowing when to fight back and when to cut your losses is, in
Smarsh's account, a talent shared by Parton and many of the
working-class women she has immortalized in song and onscreen."
--Harper's "Growing up, Sarah Smarsh was surrounded by the type of
women Dolly Parton so often sings about: impoverished women in
rural America who use both their smarts and sexuality to get by as
best they can--often despite the men who would hold them back.
These women populated Smarsh's 2018 memoir Heartland, a National
Book Award finalist. And in her stirring, insightful collection of
essays about the country music icon, she gives them and Parton
their due for redefining womanhood even as their class and culture
worked to keep them down. Smarsh anoints Parton a badly needed
beacon: in a divided country, she remains that rare someone who
everyone can love."
--Time "Like Parton herself, Smarsh's treatment is so much deeper
than what appears on the surface ... Smarsh tells Parton's story
through the eyes of women who grew up in rural America struggling
to make ends meet ... A new generation is just now realizing the
power of Parton's music. Some certainly will find out about it
because of Smarsh's book, which tells Parton's story and puts it
into step with our times."
--Spokane Spokesman-Review "Bristling with sharp insights and
righteous anger, She Come by It Natural is a moving account of how
Ms. Parton's music has helped "hard-luck women" make their own
escapes from deadbeat men and dead-end lives."
--Wall Street Journal "Smarsh doesn't pretend that Parton was ever
a spokesperson for the [feminist] movement. She was something more
meaningful: not a mouthpiece but a model."
--The New Yorker "As Sarah Smarsh notes in 'She Come by It Natural,
' her brilliant 2020 book-length meditation on Ms. Parton, 'Several
of my friends -- white, Black and Latina, with disparate class
origins among them -- commented in the weeks surrounding the 2016
election that Parton was a balm of sorts, a spiritual leader when
political leaders are failing.' If anything, these words are even
truer in the aftermath of the 2020 election than they were in 2016.
And it would be so nice to think of Miss Dolly watching over us
from that hill over the city. To believe her words in 'Light of a
Clear Blue Morning, ' if only for a moment: 'It's gonna be OK."
--New York Times "Combining tribute, memoir and social commentary,
Smarsh analyzes how Dolly Parton's songs--and success--have
embodied feminism for working-class women."
--People "An ambitious book that explores what Parton represents
for the rural poor women often left out of social justice movements
... in Smarsh's reading, Parton's feminism is implicit, embodied in
her actions."
--The New Republic "She Come By it Natural finds a sweet spot
between celebrity biographies and academic studies about this
legendary performer by offering a distinct working-class feminist
perspective gleaned from Smarsh's own experience within her rural
female working-class family."
--Journal of Working-Class Studies "As she did in her 2018 memoir,
Heartland, Smarsh offers a feminist take on America's rural
working-class women who eschew the term "feminism." The author
looks at how songs by Dolly Parton and other country-music
performers illuminate stories of women who might otherwise be
overlooked: tired waiters, pregnant teenagers, spurned wives, loyal
daughters."
--Washington Post, 10 Books to Read in October "She Come By It
Natural is a praise song for the cultural icon, but what emerges
from an examination of Parton's life and work is just how much
relevance her lyrics have had -- for Smarsh and for other women --
and why so much of the book is so deeply personal. . . . The fruit
of that devotion is a tribute to the woman who continues to
demonstrate that feminism comes in coats of many colors."
--Los Angeles Times "A great stocking stuffer for fans of the
country sensation. Smarsh portrays Parton as a voice for poor,
working-class and undervalued women. This biography of the
singer-songwriter is a testament to how she has been embraced by
generations of women who see Dolly Parton, not just as a superstar,
but also as a sister."
--The Detroit Free Press "Published in October, She Come by It
Natural is the latest--and best, and most affecting and
convincing--component of what appears to be, at long last, the
Great Dolly Parton Renaissance, that long-foretold tipping point
wherein they finally get past the shock of the ridiculous way she
looks and see that there are parts of her to be appreciated."
--The Ringer, book feature "[Smarsh] skillfully illustrat[es] how
[Parton's] music speaks to women, especially those from a
lower-class background,"
--Bookreporter "She Come by It Natural is the latest--and best, and
most affecting and convincing--component of what appears to be, at
long last, the Great Dolly Parton Renaissance."
--The Ringer "Passionate, smart, and earnest."
--AirMail "Sarah Smarsh expertly explores the overlooked social
contributions of women . . . . [An] inspiring tribute to Dolly
Parton herself."
--CNN.com "Smarsh explains that Parton's full legacy is much deeper
and more rewarding than it might seem from casual listening."
--Kansas Pitch "Throughout the book, Parton and Smarsh are in
unspoken dialogue with one another, sharing common language and
struggle through the beauty of country music."
--Wilamette Week "Dolly comes vividly to life in [the book's] pages
... a serious, not worshipful but something better, deeply
respectful critical portrait ... She really is as sharp and as
complicated as we'd begun to suspect."
--Shawangunk Journal "She Come by It Natural will appeal to a wide
range of readers who are curious about Parton. Smarsh finds a sweet
spot between biography and memoir that lets her move nimbly between
her personal affection for Parton's impact on women's lives and her
journalistic analysis of Parton's artistry, business acumen, and
iconic role in our quick-changing zeitgeist."
--Chapter 16 "[She Come By It Natural] includes sharp social
commentary and well-placed personal anecdotes, [and] is at its
heart a love letter both to Parton and to the women who continue to
see themselves in her songs."
--ShelfAwareness "Smarsh seamlessly weaves her family's experiences
with Parton's biography--triumphs and shortcomings alike--and
cultural context. She Come by It Natural is, as a result, a
relatable examination of one of country music's brightest stars and
an inspiring tale of what women can learn from one another."
--BookPage "Smarsh and Parton are a perfect pairing for the kind of
in-depth examination into gender and class and what it means to be
a woman and a working class hero that feels particularly important
right now."
--Refinery29, most anticipated "We will always love reading about
Dolly Parton,"
--Yahoo! Life "Affectionate and astute ... Smarsh's luminescent
prose and briskly tempered storytelling make for an illuminating
take on a one-of-a-kind artist."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review "A highly readable treat for
music and feminist scholars as well as Parton's legion of
fans."
--Kirkus Reviews "Readers get the impression that Smarsh read and
listened to the artist's every word and watched every filmed second
of her in order to recreate Parton here in fine, sparkling form.
Smarsh's range as a storyteller (much like her subject's) makes
this the best kind of American story, one of a person so
extraordinarily vast that we find room for ourselves, too."
--Booklist "A warm-hearted journey into what Dolly means to
generations of women who saw their lives reflected in her songs,
who first embraced her not as a star but a sister."
--Elizabeth Catte, author of What You Are Getting Wrong About
Appalachia
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