by Sarah Smarsh
First published 2021
Sarah Smarsh examines how Dolly Parton became a feminist icon for women living in poverty. The National Book Award finalist draws on her own childhood in Kansas wheat country and airplane factory towns to show how country music served as a secret language among working class women. Smarsh argues that Parton's songs validated women society ignores: poor mothers, pregnant teenagers, and women dismissed as trailer trash. She traces Parton's journey from the front porch of a Great Smoky Mountains cabin to Nashville and Hollywood stardom, showing how she transformed from a managed girl singer into a business mogul and philanthropist. Through Parton's career, Smarsh explores the complex intersections of gender, class, and culture in America. The book reveals how one woman's music gave dignity and voice to millions of others.
Genres: gender-studies, american, feminism, biography-memoir, music, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: business-mogul, rags-to-riches, secret-language
Setting: Great Smoky Mountains, Hollywood, Kansas, Nashville
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
208 pages · Paperback · Scribner