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Appalachian Daughter
This coming-of-age novel depicts the trials, triumphs, and tragedies that befall Maggie Martin, the eldest of eight children whose family struggles to make ends meet on a hilly farm in Campbell Hollow, a narrow mountain valley in East Tennessee.
On the last day of eighth grade, Maggie begins to dream of finding a way to escape the drudgery and confinement of life in the hollow and establish her independence. Her plan begins to fall in place when she enters high school and discovers she has a natural talent for excelling in shorthand, typing and other business classes. Meanwhile she spares no effort in helping her family continue to survive despite their poverty, a less than fertile few acres, and a family history of instability.
She strives to fit in at high school in spite of the harsh limits placed on her by her hot-tempered, authoritarian mother, Corie Mae. She often turns for support to her easy-going father Ray, who sometimes intervenes to overrule Corie Mae’s restrictions.
As she goes about her life, doing her school work and helping out at home, she interacts with interesting, unforgettable, and sometimes dangerous characters, including a mentally challenged neighbor, an escaped convict, and a lecherous employer. She is forced to make decisions and take actions that would be difficult for a much older adult. Maggie meets each challenge with determination, imagination, and courage whether it’s cutting a pitchfork from a mare’s tail or helping to deliver her baby sister.
The typical spoken language, folkways, and traditional beliefs and religious practices are skillfully woven into this portrait of Appalachian family life. The author’s sympathetic insights into mountain culture combined with memorably etched characters and events create a realistic reflection of Tennessee mountain life during the decade following WWII.
Maggie’s life takes an unexpected turn when her cousin JD reveals a dark secret that could shatter the family. Maggie struggles to maintain her dreams of a better life amidst the many trials that will test the grit of this Appalachian Daughter.
On the last day of eighth grade, Maggie begins to dream of finding a way to escape the drudgery and confinement of life in the hollow and establish her independence. Her plan begins to fall in place when she enters high school and discovers she has a natural talent for excelling in shorthand, typing and other business classes. Meanwhile she spares no effort in helping her family continue to survive despite their poverty, a less than fertile few acres, and a family history of instability.
She strives to fit in at high school in spite of the harsh limits placed on her by her hot-tempered, authoritarian mother, Corie Mae. She often turns for support to her easy-going father Ray, who sometimes intervenes to overrule Corie Mae’s restrictions.
As she goes about her life, doing her school work and helping out at home, she interacts with interesting, unforgettable, and sometimes dangerous characters, including a mentally challenged neighbor, an escaped convict, and a lecherous employer. She is forced to make decisions and take actions that would be difficult for a much older adult. Maggie meets each challenge with determination, imagination, and courage whether it’s cutting a pitchfork from a mare’s tail or helping to deliver her baby sister.
The typical spoken language, folkways, and traditional beliefs and religious practices are skillfully woven into this portrait of Appalachian family life. The author’s sympathetic insights into mountain culture combined with memorably etched characters and events create a realistic reflection of Tennessee mountain life during the decade following WWII.
Maggie’s life takes an unexpected turn when her cousin JD reveals a dark secret that could shatter the family. Maggie struggles to maintain her dreams of a better life amidst the many trials that will test the grit of this Appalachian Daughter.
204 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 2014
1892 people are currently reading
2421 people want to read
About the author
Mary Jane Salyers
2 books37 followersAbout the Author – Mary Jane Salyers
I grew up in a rural county in East Tennessee during the 1940s and 1950s. This county had very little industry–a few small coal mines and sawmills, so most people made their living as farmers or traveled out of the county to find jobs. Many families lived on small tracts of land, often on hillsides or in hollows, where they eked out a living from the soil–enough to survive. At that time, my county was among the poorest counties in all of Appalachia.
My family had our little fifteen-acre plot, about a third of which was not tillable. We kept cows to provide milk and butter and raised chickens, hogs, rabbits, and goats, and sometimes horses. During the summer we raised a big garden and canned and preserved food to see us through the winter and raised corn and hay to feed our animals. From the time I was in the seventh grade until I graduated from high school, I milked two cows every evening and often on mornings as well. My father thought work was important for growing children, so we all had our chores. We learned not only how to raise and harvest crops, take care of animals and the property, and lay up provisions for the winter but also learned how to work hard, solve problems, and cooperate to get a job done.
In those days before Financial Aid and Community Colleges, many of my classmates could not afford to attend higher education, but expected to find a job somewhere after graduation, get married, or join the military. My parents, both high school teachers, had barely enough financial resources to send their offspring to college but hoped we would all do so. Four of their five children fulfilled that expectation–and three of us became teachers.
I remember in seventh grade the teacher asked what we wanted to do when we grew up. I hadn’t thought much about it, but decided then that I would teach during the school year and write novels in the summer. The writing bit was more a whim than real desire and I didn’t get around to doing much about that for many, many years.
I enrolled in Carson-Newman College where I met and began to date Bill Salyers, and we decided to get married only after I finished my degree. I majored English with a minor in history, and earned a secondary teaching license for the State of Tennessee. During the next 40 years, I taught in four states and one foreign country in both secondary schools and colleges. As this would indicate, we moved around a good deal, mostly for Bill’s jobs.
In addition to being a high school teacher and coach, my father was also a Baptist pastor. My mother was an ideal pastor’s wife, so I followed her example and married a preacher boy. Bill attended seminary during the early years of our marriage. We often said that he was working on his ThM degree and I was working on a PhT (putting hubby through). He served as pastor of several churches in Indiana and as chaplain at a large institution for the mentally disabled. That institutional experience helped make me more aware and sensitive to persons with intellectual difficulties.
During those busy years, I continued to teach, but also earned a masters degree from Indiana University and gave birth to three daughters, who have all grown up to be powerful women and have provided us with four wonderful grandchildren and two great-grandsons. In 2011 we moved to Hillsborough, NC, to live close to our youngest daughter and her two children.
As I approached retirement, I began to think again about writing a novel. I kept remembering all the rich stories, language, events of my years as a Tennessee mountain girl. I took a fiction writing course from the University of Chicago where I wrote one of the chapters that appear in Appalachian Daughter. Later, after retirement, I attended several writing workshops: Green Lake Writer’s Conference, Appalachian Writers Workshop, and Antioch Writers’ Workshop, where I received helpful instruction, advice, and critiques of more of the chapters. I
I grew up in a rural county in East Tennessee during the 1940s and 1950s. This county had very little industry–a few small coal mines and sawmills, so most people made their living as farmers or traveled out of the county to find jobs. Many families lived on small tracts of land, often on hillsides or in hollows, where they eked out a living from the soil–enough to survive. At that time, my county was among the poorest counties in all of Appalachia.
My family had our little fifteen-acre plot, about a third of which was not tillable. We kept cows to provide milk and butter and raised chickens, hogs, rabbits, and goats, and sometimes horses. During the summer we raised a big garden and canned and preserved food to see us through the winter and raised corn and hay to feed our animals. From the time I was in the seventh grade until I graduated from high school, I milked two cows every evening and often on mornings as well. My father thought work was important for growing children, so we all had our chores. We learned not only how to raise and harvest crops, take care of animals and the property, and lay up provisions for the winter but also learned how to work hard, solve problems, and cooperate to get a job done.
In those days before Financial Aid and Community Colleges, many of my classmates could not afford to attend higher education, but expected to find a job somewhere after graduation, get married, or join the military. My parents, both high school teachers, had barely enough financial resources to send their offspring to college but hoped we would all do so. Four of their five children fulfilled that expectation–and three of us became teachers.
I remember in seventh grade the teacher asked what we wanted to do when we grew up. I hadn’t thought much about it, but decided then that I would teach during the school year and write novels in the summer. The writing bit was more a whim than real desire and I didn’t get around to doing much about that for many, many years.
I enrolled in Carson-Newman College where I met and began to date Bill Salyers, and we decided to get married only after I finished my degree. I majored English with a minor in history, and earned a secondary teaching license for the State of Tennessee. During the next 40 years, I taught in four states and one foreign country in both secondary schools and colleges. As this would indicate, we moved around a good deal, mostly for Bill’s jobs.
In addition to being a high school teacher and coach, my father was also a Baptist pastor. My mother was an ideal pastor’s wife, so I followed her example and married a preacher boy. Bill attended seminary during the early years of our marriage. We often said that he was working on his ThM degree and I was working on a PhT (putting hubby through). He served as pastor of several churches in Indiana and as chaplain at a large institution for the mentally disabled. That institutional experience helped make me more aware and sensitive to persons with intellectual difficulties.
During those busy years, I continued to teach, but also earned a masters degree from Indiana University and gave birth to three daughters, who have all grown up to be powerful women and have provided us with four wonderful grandchildren and two great-grandsons. In 2011 we moved to Hillsborough, NC, to live close to our youngest daughter and her two children.
As I approached retirement, I began to think again about writing a novel. I kept remembering all the rich stories, language, events of my years as a Tennessee mountain girl. I took a fiction writing course from the University of Chicago where I wrote one of the chapters that appear in Appalachian Daughter. Later, after retirement, I attended several writing workshops: Green Lake Writer’s Conference, Appalachian Writers Workshop, and Antioch Writers’ Workshop, where I received helpful instruction, advice, and critiques of more of the chapters. I
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews
August 23, 2024
The Appalachian Daughter by Mary Jane Salyers is a coming-of-age novel set in 1950s Appalachia. The story centers on Maggie, a young girl growing up in a poor, rural community, burdened by family responsibilities, societal expectations, and her own need for a life beyond what she knows. As the oldest of eight children, Maggie carries the weight of her family's needs, church obligations, and the pressures of fitting in at high school, all while navigating the difficulties of adolescence and the desire for something more than her upbringing offers. The novel also focus’ on the importance of community and family ties. The novel addresses the lack of education, poverty and backward ways of those in the Appalachian region.
June 24, 2015
Four Stars for Appalachian Daughter
I really enjoyed this story. My only hope is that the author continues the storyline in a sequel. Please :)
I really enjoyed this story. My only hope is that the author continues the storyline in a sequel. Please :)
November 16, 2023
Brought me to tears - my mother was just like Maggie’s mother. Couldn’t believe there were two people so much alike . . .
September 3, 2016
Kudos to the self-published author who tells a good story. Also, I am a little obsessed with tales of old-timey Appalachia.
August 3, 2017
This is a lovely book. Well written in an easy to read style, writing of a time and place where few of us have been. People are honest, have strong values and know what is right. Yet family and friend conflict still happen. Maggie is one of my favourite characters in a novel in a very long time. Thanks Mary Jane Salyers and I highly recommend this book. Wonderful stuff.
February 3, 2016
Appalachian Daughter.
I enjoyed the simplicity of this story. No violence, no embarrassing scenes. Just the story of a family, with all the character flaws, emotions and sorrows most families experience.
I enjoyed the simplicity of this story. No violence, no embarrassing scenes. Just the story of a family, with all the character flaws, emotions and sorrows most families experience.
April 25, 2022
I gave this book a 3. It was very well written for someone in Middle School to read. The plot centered mostly around young children and teens. The book was from the point of view of a teen. I felt it was slow and mostly uneventful.
June 26, 2022
This was Brenda’s book club pick and I had to say it on my top of good books I’ve read this year. I love the story the characters and the person that read the book. I gave the book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 14, 2023
This one was a bit of a dud for most of our group. Unfortunately, the story didn't seem to lead anywhere. We follow Maggie as she endures life in the Appalachian region through high school. And although some pretty big things happen, you get to the end feeling like nothing big happened. One member said they had to look to see if it was a part of a series because the ending didn't seem like a true ending. 🤷🏻♀️ It's got quite a lot of good reviews on Goodreads though.
If you struggle to remember names (as I do) you may not want to do audiobook for this. There were quite a few characters, many with double names, and many similar!
If you're interested in the struggles of growing up as a woman in the Appalachian region of the US during the 1950s, this one is for you. But if not, maybe pass on it.
If you struggle to remember names (as I do) you may not want to do audiobook for this. There were quite a few characters, many with double names, and many similar!
If you're interested in the struggles of growing up as a woman in the Appalachian region of the US during the 1950s, this one is for you. But if not, maybe pass on it.
November 29, 2017
I thought this was a sweet memoir but then Kim, another G.R. member pointed out that it is a novel - it’s still sweet but definitely not deep.
The author describes life in a large, mostly happy family. There are challenges, including poverty, broken hearts, adolescent rebellion, war and death. As a memoir, I found it sweet, as a novel I’d describe it as simplistic and moralistic.
The author describes life in a large, mostly happy family. There are challenges, including poverty, broken hearts, adolescent rebellion, war and death. As a memoir, I found it sweet, as a novel I’d describe it as simplistic and moralistic.
October 28, 2017
The dialect is authentic enough for me to believe in the author's knowledge of Appalachian life and that it was experienced instead of researched. The story just wasnt the greatest, but it was an authentic portrayal of Appalachian poverty and oppression of women.
May 31, 2025
As someone from Eastern Kentucky, not far from Harlan, this book really spoke to me. Reading this book felt like my mamaw or grandma was telling me stories from their childhood. There's no way to describe the feeling of home, but this book got close. I laughed, I cried, I waited in suspense, and rooted for Maggie the entire way.
December 5, 2022
A girl growing up in a holler in Appalachia experiences extreme poverty on a daily basis. As the oldest daughter in a very large family her responsibilities never end. Her father supports her and wants her to become educated, while her mother is locked into the tradition that women don't need to be. Religious beliefs dictate her mother's very restrictive limits on her activities. As she gets older eventually she realizes she has to break the ties that bind her. It's a really great story.
April 27, 2023
Bittersweet story of a young teen girl who navigates the trials and tribulations of growing up in the Tennessee holler. Great story and beautiful characters. Also a shout out to teachers who go above and beyond for their students.
August 16, 2021
Easy read. Enjoyed the book. Writing was well done. Ending could have been better. It just ended if that makes sense. It was almost abrupt and for a gentle book, it made me feel like it was just dropped.
May 19, 2017
Ok..loved the history
Loved the history and family interactions. ..tough time to live, yet so comforting and peaceful after a hard days work
Loved the history and family interactions. ..tough time to live, yet so comforting and peaceful after a hard days work
September 9, 2014
This is a delightful story about life and the high school years of a girl growing up in the mountains of East Tennessee during the 1940s-1950s. The author engaged me on the first page and kept my interest throughout the rest of the book. Life was hard and the family struggled economically and with one crisis after the other. Without being preachy, the author portrays a young woman with high moral values who does well with life situations. Though the book ends on a high note, everything does not turn out as I had wished. I commend this book to anyone who wants a good coming of age story.
May 18, 2020
It took me a long time to finally finish this book. Just got a kindle paper white style reader and I’ve been finishing up books I started and never finished.
I loved this book. I really felt the emotions of the main character and could relate in some way to her life experiences in an era that was not my own. It feels so familiar because it was the time my Mom was growing up, and her stories inter mingled with the things in the book.
It’s a take you back to another time. I always enjoy that.
I loved this book. I really felt the emotions of the main character and could relate in some way to her life experiences in an era that was not my own. It feels so familiar because it was the time my Mom was growing up, and her stories inter mingled with the things in the book.
It’s a take you back to another time. I always enjoy that.
August 2, 2016
Mother Daughter Conflicts
This story took place during the period between World War II and the Korean War. Maggie is the oldest child in the very poor bit loving family. As Maggie looks for independence but often isn't because she is the oldest and has too many chores! Anyone who comes from a large family and is a girl will relate to Maggie's plight. Lots of good use of descriptive language. This turned into a fast read and engaged my attention from the beginning.
This story took place during the period between World War II and the Korean War. Maggie is the oldest child in the very poor bit loving family. As Maggie looks for independence but often isn't because she is the oldest and has too many chores! Anyone who comes from a large family and is a girl will relate to Maggie's plight. Lots of good use of descriptive language. This turned into a fast read and engaged my attention from the beginning.
January 28, 2022
I’m a little over halfway through this book and am waiting for the story to start. The characters are walking around doing the things they do, but there’s really no storyline and also it isn’t a character or setting development type of book either. The writing plods along with series of one-liners from the characters and I sometimes can’t tell who says them. Kind of like the fiction short stories that a student might write in creative writing class. I rarely do this, but I’m giving up.
October 9, 2016
Captivating story!
I loved this story. It was such a page turner I read it in one day! I was so into the story I didn't realize I was at the end until I turned the page and it was asking for my review. I do hope Ms. Salyers writes a sequel to let us know how Maggie's new life went.
I loved this story. It was such a page turner I read it in one day! I was so into the story I didn't realize I was at the end until I turned the page and it was asking for my review. I do hope Ms. Salyers writes a sequel to let us know how Maggie's new life went.
December 19, 2020
I am confused by the amount of 5 star ratings for this book. It just floundered all over the place. There were so many missed chances at developing an actual story that might have been interesting. No potential storyline ever made it anywhere. It was a truly painful read. I'd give it a negative rating if I could.
August 18, 2016
Struggles and Success
I had a life similar to Maggies .The flow of the book kept me picking it up every moment I could. Maggie was a full blown character and so real. I would recommend it to my women friends
I had a life similar to Maggies .The flow of the book kept me picking it up every moment I could. Maggie was a full blown character and so real. I would recommend it to my women friends
September 23, 2016
Excellent.
Loved this simple story of good people doing what they need to get by. Will look for other book by this author. She captured the spirit of people from this locale and era so well.
Loved this simple story of good people doing what they need to get by. Will look for other book by this author. She captured the spirit of people from this locale and era so well.
October 9, 2016
!oved this book
Lots of fantastic descriptions and strong characters. Feels like you are part of this community. The family feels real and you are part of it. Once started you have to finish.
Lots of fantastic descriptions and strong characters. Feels like you are part of this community. The family feels real and you are part of it. Once started you have to finish.
November 26, 2016
How refreshing to read a good book, with a good story. It is full of 'life' and not full of foul language and sexual situations that bring nothing to the story. I hope for more books about Maggie and her family.
June 3, 2021
Good
It was enjoyable to read but the ending left me hanging. Maggie and her mother had a bad relationship and it just ended that way! I don't understand any mother not wanting her daughter to have an education but I guess that happens in the Appalachians.
It was enjoyable to read but the ending left me hanging. Maggie and her mother had a bad relationship and it just ended that way! I don't understand any mother not wanting her daughter to have an education but I guess that happens in the Appalachians.
October 27, 2016
What a let down!
I was very much enjoying reading this story and was completely caught off guard by its abrupt ending. Just to drop it like that, ruined the rest for me.
I was very much enjoying reading this story and was completely caught off guard by its abrupt ending. Just to drop it like that, ruined the rest for me.
March 15, 2018
3.5 Stars
September 28, 2021
I thought it was a great book.
It evoked an emotional response from me.
I had a hard time reading it because of how cruel the mother was to the daughter.
The main character Maggie Martin was a teenage daughter of parents who grew up and stayed in Appalachian traditions. Maggie and her family struggles against poverty, death, and medical bills.
Maggie's had some personal challenges too like letting go of outgrown friendships, flirtations, trying to better herself and trying to fit in school. However, Maggie had help from the school staff. Maggie was smart and did very well in school. She played on the basketball team, went to academic achievement events and dinners, worked in offices school and outside- all against her mother’s wishes. Maggie's dad was supportive because I think he wanted to leave their Holler but couldn't because Maggie’s mother had grown in the area. He went there to live and gave up his life to be with her. Maggie's mother was very rigid in her thinking and in her generational old ways. Maggie’s dad gave up a lot to be with Maggie's mother. I think some part of himself regrets it. At the end of the story, Maggie graduates from high school- the first in her family to ever to this and as class Valedictorian. Her mother did not go to her graduation as she thought Maggie should have quit school and worked with her at home. After graduation Maggie got a job in Cincinnati as a legal secretary. As she was preparing to go, she was going through her clothes and other belongings. On the day she left, all of her brothers and sisters, her grandpa and grandma, Aunt and her dad came to wish her goodbye. Her mother did not come to say goodbye, but stay hoeing a garden. I felt very hurt at this part of the story. But Maggie moved on and out of family tradition. She started a fresh life. For some reason I strongly identified with Maggie. I highly recommend this book.
It evoked an emotional response from me.
I had a hard time reading it because of how cruel the mother was to the daughter.
The main character Maggie Martin was a teenage daughter of parents who grew up and stayed in Appalachian traditions. Maggie and her family struggles against poverty, death, and medical bills.
Maggie's had some personal challenges too like letting go of outgrown friendships, flirtations, trying to better herself and trying to fit in school. However, Maggie had help from the school staff. Maggie was smart and did very well in school. She played on the basketball team, went to academic achievement events and dinners, worked in offices school and outside- all against her mother’s wishes. Maggie's dad was supportive because I think he wanted to leave their Holler but couldn't because Maggie’s mother had grown in the area. He went there to live and gave up his life to be with her. Maggie's mother was very rigid in her thinking and in her generational old ways. Maggie’s dad gave up a lot to be with Maggie's mother. I think some part of himself regrets it. At the end of the story, Maggie graduates from high school- the first in her family to ever to this and as class Valedictorian. Her mother did not go to her graduation as she thought Maggie should have quit school and worked with her at home. After graduation Maggie got a job in Cincinnati as a legal secretary. As she was preparing to go, she was going through her clothes and other belongings. On the day she left, all of her brothers and sisters, her grandpa and grandma, Aunt and her dad came to wish her goodbye. Her mother did not come to say goodbye, but stay hoeing a garden. I felt very hurt at this part of the story. But Maggie moved on and out of family tradition. She started a fresh life. For some reason I strongly identified with Maggie. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews