“Rodenberg’s voice often disappears inside her own memoir, becoming a fly on the wall to chronicle the lives of others in her family. This unique — and oftentimes jarring — splintering of perspective further elucidates the feeling of being lost, confused and powerless in the face of the larger narrative that surrounds and confines many rural-born women in Appalachia.”
More praise for Kin:
The echoes of an important chapter from America’s past call out from these pages, and Rodenberg’s stories of lives that are generally overlooked make for essential reading.
—Rachel Newcomb, The Washington Post
Shawna Kay Rodenberg tells her story with a near-heroic self-awareness and insight into her family, her Appalachian ancestors, her spiritual suffering and religious sustenance, the damage done by generations of abuse, and the damage repaired by love and her own self-witness. She is a masterful storyteller, and I have tremendous admiration for her lucid courage and for the way her personal resiliency seems to have generated a specific kind of prose, both powerful and kind.
—Rosanne Cash
Whatever you believe about Appalachia, prepare to have those beliefs upended, or at least beautifully complicated. Unless, of course, you are from there, and then prepare to glimpse what is possible. Kin is about remembering 'who and what' we are-to not only making peace with that, but to shape it into something remarkable.
—Nick Flynn, author of THIS IS THE NIGHT OUR HOUSE WILL CATCH FIRE
I hope this book will fall into the hands of everyone who has ever swallowed their words, hid their scars, been mocked, laughed at, or ignored. Rodenberg's lyricism, mastery of form, and command of image and metaphor are matched only by the power of her honesty and the precision of her recall. Kin will endure and bring light and warmth to all who encounter this beautiful book.
—Robert Gipe, author of POP: AN ILLUSTRATED NOVEL
Shawna Kay Rodenberg may have been born ‘bruised-ass-backward into a world of chaos,’ but her memoir Kin is so full of ballsy intelligence and unremitting love that it feels like secular scripture. An American original.
—Benjamin Anastas, author of Too Good to be True