Acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver recently celebrated the opening of Higher Ground, a recovery residence she established using royalties from her latest novel, Demon Copperhead. The workshop, held in Pennington Gap, Virginia, was a chance for Kingsolver to interact with the volunteers who had come from a Tennessee recovery center. This new initiative could go a long way to helping distance-challenged Americans who are fighting addiction, another issue that Kingsolver frequently writes about and advocates for.
Kingsolver, whose best-selling novels—most recently, flight—have made her a literary household name, has long and storied roots in rural America. She was raised in Kentucky and had lived for most of her adult life on a small farm in Washington County, southwest Virginia. This experience provides her with a rich appreciation for the challenges and inherent beauty of Appalachian culture. In a speech during her ceremony, she emphasized the spirit of modesty and self-reliance that defines the Great Plains.
Higher Ground launched in style, with a lively West Virginia celebration featuring traditional Appalachian food and music. This colorful public celebration did much to amplify Kingsolver’s call to celebrate and protect local culture. “It has become so easy for urban people to dismiss all of rural America, to paint us all with the brush of backward, dumb – that was toxic,” Kingsolver remarked, addressing the misconceptions about rural communities.
In her conversations with volunteers at the celebration, Kingsolver emphasized the importance of acknowledging the struggles faced by many in these areas. “Initially, and maybe still, specifically in Lee County, some people felt like: ‘Why did you have to name us?’ she said, thinking back on the stigma typically tied to speaking honestly about local problems.
Higher Ground is working to provide that safe haven for those looking to find recovery. Kingsolver touches on the importance of facing this truth head-on in order for the community to begin to heal. She lamented the fact that too many people want to insulate themselves from the reality of what’s happening with their fellow Americans. We can’t have people aware that really terrible things are allowed to happen in this place. You know, that beautiful arbitrary denial that so many people depend on to stay alive,” she stated.
Kingsolver is the co-founder of Higher Ground. She just wanted to donate a set of books to Lee County High School after an English teacher there requested them. Yet, she chuckled as she remembered how the books mysteriously disappeared from her car to the classroom. This anecdote served to demonstrate both her commitment to education and the intricacies and challenges of working with established local institutions.
Kingsolver’s novel, Demon Copperhead, serves as a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, featuring a protagonist filled with resilience and humor. Through this character, she captures the shocking realities that children in rural Appalachia endure, yet rejoices in their resilience. “I didn’t have any idea Demon would bring home so much bacon,” Kingsolver joked about the unexpected success of her book.
Her work—both fiction and non—is infused with an awareness of the social realities that exist outside of fiction’s walls. She’s passionate about our country’s history and current politics, going so far as to write her Republican congressman once every other day. Kingsolver is passionate about addressing injustices and believes in the sentiment expressed by Martin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Kingsolver’s passion for social justice permeates both her fiction writing and nonfiction writing. Her commitment is further evidenced by her philanthropy, including through such initiatives as Higher Ground. She goes on to suggest that “charity is a deeply problematic concept.” She illustrates how it sometimes manifests as a severe power disparity that can set the stage for abuse. Her method, in contrast, aims to uplift people without supplanting their superiority.
Kingsolver walks the tightrope of her new position with equal parts grace and fire, and it’s beautiful to see. Her perspective on this is informed by her childhood in Kentucky and current adult life in Virginia. Her conviction that Appalachian culture deserved to be celebrated instead of belittled showed her passion for uplifting her community.