Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence

Abstract

Reviewed by: Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence Emily Masters (bio) Matthew Ferrence. Appalachia North. Morgantown, W.Va.: West Virginia University Press, 2019. 274 pages. Softcover. $26.99. Matthew Ferrence. Appalachia North. Morgantown, W.Va.: West Virginia University Press, 2019. 274 pages. Softcover. $26.99. Water is the current carrying Matthew Ferrence along the map of his life in his memoir Appalachia North. From the water in our streams to the water in our ponds to the water in the blood running through our veins, he traces his life through the moments of transition and movement visible in water. When he moves away from his home in southern Pennsylvania, what he misses most is the water constantly shaping the landscape. As a child, he spent his time playing in the streams at the bottom of his parent's farm, and as an adult, he recognizes how politicized his known landscapes are by corporate resource ownership and lack of respect for the environment, especially when it comes to damaging water sources. He explores shifting landscapes, questions ownership, and asks what it means when the maps we have of our bodily landscapes are shaken to the core. In a world where Appalachia is a place of fluctuating borders, Ferrence extends his definition of Appalachia all the way up through the eroded ranges of Canada, what he calls "Canappalachia." While this may irk some readers, especially those with a narrow view of what defines Appalachia, it is powerful to hear the perspective of someone who is from the often-overlooked northern Appalachia. He argues for a [End Page 123] continuation of the definition based on landscape—on the connection drawn by lines of the long-standing, long-eroded Appalachian mountain range, and he questions powers that be who define maps for and profit from some of the nation's poorest areas and people. The environmental bent of Appalachia North is a powerful one. From the beginning, Ferrence emphasizes how from an early age he has been conscious of industrial destruction of the environment. From water pollution to issues of returning a mountain to contour to destruction of private property for mineral rights, he is outspoken about his desire for the landscape he has known since childhood to remain stable. He's disappointed, however, when he returns to his family's farm to find gas wells marked with wooden stakes across the property. In a moment of empowerment, he uproots one and hurls it across the field, one small act of rebellion speaking volumes. As I read Ferrence's memoir, I found myself drawn to his constant need to redefine: our bodies, our identities, our maps. He writes of tension in self-identification growing up in a place technically within the Appalachian Regional Commission defined territory of the region in Pennsylvania, but both inside and outside of what he sees as the typical Appalachian experience. He doesn't discover his Appalachian-ness until attending college in West Virginia. As someone who had never thought of myself as Appalachian until college, his questioning of and redefining identity rings true. While it is clear Ferrence is winding together tributaries of defining what Appalachia means to him and what a brain cancer diagnosis does to his sense of self, the latter thread is often lost, turning more into a trickle than a stream, and resurfacing when it is least expected and sometimes nearly forgotten. I expected more emphasis on what seems like such a pillar of how Ferrence defines his relationship to the world [End Page 124] around him. More focus on the emotional side of his story would have been welcomed in a memoir sometimes bogged down in fact and research above emotional plight. The academic tone Ferrence takes on is most evident in his eighth chapter "Reading Like an Appalachian." He takes it upon himself to review books set in and near his hometown, tearing apart what he feels like does not do his place justice. The chapter feels misplaced, like it would sit more at home in a magazine or journal than in his memoir. That said, the entirety of his memoir is well-researched, and Ferrence makes sure to support every claim he makes...