* From Mike in Bethesda, MD, about Union, WV

Union, WV is a warmly written novel by a man who feels and touches those around him in such a good way.   As I've just finished it just moments ago, the death of one of the main characters saddens me to the point where I have serious pause about my own existence these 40+ years in the suburbs of Washington DC...and will most certainly pause every time I see this book in my bookcase.  

Personally I can relate all too much with the book's main character, in that I came from a broken home at 9 yrs of age and most of my early life was spent in ever-changing environments that rewarded the ability to fit in quickly and adapt.   This almost cloning ability, one of my greatest strengths, I see now has a flaw in who and what I am today.  The Wash. DC metropolitan community, like many (most, perhaps all?) major US communities have become such competitive environs and wrong in so many ways.   This is something I need to work on, just like the book's main character manages as he recuperates from his injuries. 

Union, WV opened my eyes to many decades of rich Appalachia history.  I recommend it to all for a further understanding of one of the richest sources of energy in North America (coal) that, sadly, the wonderful people there have not shared in the prosperity it gives the rest of us...but the rest of us have paid a very dear price for this rock gold.  Sadly, America's big cities have traded their humanity for fuel, and it is the incredible humanity that Union, WV shows and preserves so well.

Thank you Michael Abraham.