What do you think life was like for the people of Troublesome? What are some of the highlights of living in such a remote place? What are some of the challenges the people on Cussy's library route face?
Created: 08/26/19
Replies: 10
Join Date: 10/15/10
Posts: 3442
Join Date: 05/26/18
Posts: 77
It is difficult for me to sit in my modern kitchen and imagine how difficult life was for the inhabitants of Troublesome Creek. I think they must have been exhausted, hungry, and in pain most of the time. I imagine terrible cold in the winter. Most of their time would be spent just trying to survive. It is a tribute to the human spirit that they still found time to read and to share their knowledge through the community scrapbooks.
Join Date: 04/11/19
Posts: 25
It was a very hard life. The prejudice of the time, on top of the poverty, made it worse. How did many survive? It is hard to imagine. Seeing one's own children literally starve to death is, thankfully, beyond comprehension. I am glad we were treated to characters who had the drive and tenacity to escape the limited circumstances found in that locale, in those times. I appreciate the fact that the author brought up these topics. It was eye-opening, and helped me understand why certain federal programs came into being.
Join Date: 04/23/12
Posts: 182
Join Date: 02/19/19
Posts: 7
Troublesome Creek was so depressing. There was such a great deal of pain from hunger, disease and lack of life's basic necessities.
I'm sure the novel is true to life in that area back in that time.
These bookwomen were the highlight to many, having the opportunity to read books, newspapers and magazines.
Join Date: 02/08/16
Posts: 505
It is hard to fathom what a difficult life they had. For me, the worst was thinking of the men working in the mines and the constant danger they were in. Then there was the life of the women, many child brides with no options and no escape. These people led hard, often isolated, lives an yet they persevered. I could understand why the book deliveries were such a godsend.
Join Date: 02/18/15
Posts: 497
Life in Troublesome Creek is beyond description. How does a mother watch her children starve to death? How does she remain sane? Most of the food that was eaten, we would consider weeds. Yet they clung to the tiniest bit of hope they could find. They didn't worry about running water, there was the creek. Survival was their only worry. Living and working in the coal mines was an awful existence but there was nothing else. You held your breath and prayed that your loved one would return home after their shift. My grandfather was a coal miner during that time period and I remember thinking that she was always listening -- listening for the sound of the whistle, that meant there was a cave in.
Join Date: 01/13/18
Posts: 208
I know it was unbelievably hard, to the extent that if one hasn’t lived it, it’s incomprehensible how hard. Knowing that any baby that was lucky enough to be born healthy would still have a high probability of dying before age 2 from starvation, disease, or trauma had to be almost unbearable for any parent. The attitude the well-off had toward the poor that the poor’s lot was their own fault and they deserved it was typical and prevented them from improving their situation. This was illustrated by Doc’s statements to Cussy regarding Angeline’s husband. It was apparent that Doc only cared about the chicken stealing, not why he stole the chicken; i.e. extreme hunger, three days with nothing in the gut hunger. The desperation and hopelessness would be crushing.
Join Date: 08/16/11
Posts: 79
I was surprised by the crushing poverty of the mountain people. I knew they were poor but this book really opened my eyes to how poor they really were. Life must have been a constant struggle to survive. The reading material that the pack horse librarians provided would have been one of the few pleasures of their lives and granted an escape from the drudgery of subsistence living.
Join Date: 08/01/15
Posts: 66
I believe the people of Troublesome had a life like nothing we in today's modern American society can really imagine. There are many parts of the world that still struggle like the people of Troublesome Creek. I know stories I heard about the Depression related to the poor, remote life depicted in this book. I think people tended to develop strong connections to others. This is what sustained them through hardship. I believe these people skills are sometimes lacking in our fast paced technology centered society.
Join Date: 06/25/13
Posts: 347
I agree with Elizibeth Marie, I cannot living our modern homes what it would be that poor. We have gone camping in a tent many times without modern conveniences and enjoyed, but we knew we would going back home. I do not believe I could manage life like they did. How cold and tired they were most of the time. They were always short of food and had little or no medical care. I must give much credit to the horseback librarians for trying to give them what little enjoyment they had.
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