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Emilee Hackney's memoir, All That's Unseen ( Random House, 2026) is a story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. Here's more about Emilee and her book:

She was born and raised deep in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains. The majestic ridgelines of southwest Virginia provided the backdrop for her upbringing, and the stories of her grandparents and the coal mines’ brutal grip on their livelihood and land informed her understanding of home and the shape of one’s life. The memoir and our conversation detail the story of a young woman who loses her faith, leaves the holler for Harvard, and finds her way back to her home, discovering what endures along the way.

Paid subscribers can find a bonus conversation I had with Emilee here and on Patreon.

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*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Known as @theculturedbumpkin on social media and YouTube, voice actor Jake Phillips knows a thing or two about sounding Southern. The Mississippi native built his voice acting career after he began reading and recording audio books for his children and putting them on YouTube. He has grown a following online for his whimsical vocal interpretations of classics like Shakespeare and Pride and Prejudice-but with a Southern twist.

You can find Jake's Voice Acting Academy here

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

What did you think of this episode?

In this episode, I'm sitting down at the Library of Virginia with bestselling author, director, playwright, podcaster, and friend, Adriana Trigiani, to talk about what it means to be Appalachian.

She is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Big Stone Gap series, The View from Lake Como, The Good Left Undone, The Shoemaker’s Wife and Lucia, Lucia. In recent news, she was chosen to write Connie, a new authorized Godfather novel, to be released in the fall of 2027.

Her work has been published in thirty-eight languages around the world. An award-winning playwright, television writer/producer, and filmmaker, Trigiani wrote and directed the major motion picture of her debut novel, Big Stone Gap, adapted her novel, Very Valentine, for television, and directed the award-winning documentary, Queens of the Big Time. She has written for The Washington Post, the Richmond Times Dispatch and Bon Appétit magazine, among others. Adriana hosts the hit podcast, You Are What You Read, where she interviews authors and luminaries about the books that built their souls. In 2023, Adriana was named Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia by President Sergio Mattarella of Italy, and in 2024, the Library of Virginia awarded her the Patron of Letters degree, their highest honor. She also holds honorary degrees from Saint Mary’s College and the University of New Haven. Adriana is co-founder of the Origin Project, a year-round, in-school writing program that has served over 25,000 students since its inception in 2014. Trigiani is honored to serve on the New York State Council on the Arts.

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: talkingappalachianpodcast@gmail.com or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain