Reviews

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

greatheights's review against another edition

2.0

I really wanted to love this book, but I finally had to let go of this one without finishing it. It's beautifully written--Smarsh has a way with words and can craft an eloquent sentence. But when it comes to narrative, the book goes no where. Perhaps it's because I grew up near and aware of the rural poor she's describing--maybe the book is more engaging for folks that are experiencing an eye opening account of a world they didn't know existed. But for me, it became a tedious read.

cj5300's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

chrisreadsinmhk's review against another edition

2.0

There are probably people who didn't grow up poor in rural Kansas who think this book is great. But I did grow up in Kansas and I did grow up poor and I just dont have the time for this romanticized view of it. The choice to write the whole thing as a letter to the baby she didn't have that let her get out of poverty and the authors tone reading the book (I listened to the audiobook) really did not work for me.

elanna76's review against another edition

5.0

Finally, a memoir by someone who escaped moral and material poverty in the U.S.A. and who openly points at the elephant in the room: one lucky, focused, intellectually gifted child who makes it does not justify the puritan mentality that relegates the poor in a corner in the name of self-improvement. You can be a hard worker, with values and all, and still be condemned to a lifetime of shame, poverty and possibly substance addiction. Even if you are white!!! This is the most important legacy of the memoir: it is never (only) a matter of skin colour, religion, good will. IT IS A MATTER OF CLASSISM.
Here, I wrote it. No, SHE wrote it. And if you think that she cannot talk because she is white, read this other one
[b:There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir|38650651|There Will Be No Miracles Here A Memoir|Casey Gerald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526399296l/38650651._SY75_.jpg|60261760]
He writes pretty much the same thing, but he is black.

drmaquen's review against another edition

4.5

A true portrayal of small town Midwest life. 

tara1992's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

norahbringer's review against another edition

4.0

Well worth reading. Smarsh tells the story of her family by focusing on the women - their hardships, how they survived, and how some of them even thrived. It's less *her* story and more of an attempt to explore how she came to be, in the circumstances in which she came to be (i.e., the story of her mom and grandma and further back). It wanders at points, but I'm very glad I read it.

cornmaven's review against another edition

5.0

This is Smarsh's memoir of growing up poor in the rural Midwest, coupled with commentary about income inequality, its suppression of the middle class, and its persistence. It's a story of how hard it is to break the cycle of poverty within a family.

At first I was turned off by Smarsh's literary device of speaking to an unborn child. But that was because I misinterpreted it, and at the end I fully understood why she used it. It ended up being very powerful.

kschlottman's review against another edition

5.0

Such an incredibly important book.

brindabani's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

2.75

Interesting content and format. I enjoyed the exploration of intergenerational trauma, but some of the framing fell flat for me. It was an easy read and felt conversational, but I think it was not as much of a memoir as I was hoping. I kept waiting for deeper reflection from the author on her own life and perspectives, but they were pushed until the last four pages and felt a bit rushed.