Coal Miners' Wives: Portraits of Endurance - Softcover

Giesen, Carol

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813108454 ISBN 13: 9780813108452

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 1995

Synopsis

Few people in America today live with the dangers and deprivations that Appalachian coal mining families experience. But to the eighteen West Virginia women Carol Giesen interviewed for this book, hard times are just everyday life.

These coal miners' wives, ranging in age from late teens to eighty-five, tell of a way of life dominated by coal mining―and shadowed by a constant fear of death or injury to a loved one. From birth to old age, they experience the social and economic pressures of the coal mining industry. Few families in these communities earn their living in any job outside a coal mine, and most young men and women find no advantage in completing their education.

Women whose stresses and strengths have seldom been disclosed reveal here their personal stories, their understanding of the dangers of coal mining, their domestic concerns, the place of friends and faith in their lives, and their expectations of the future.

What emerges is a deeply moving story of determination in the face of adversity. Over and over, these women deal with the frustrations caused by strikes, layoffs, and mine closings, often taking any jobs they can find while their husbands are out of work. Endlessly; their home concerns revolve around protecting their husbands from additional work or worry. Always there is fear for their husbands' lives and the pervasive anger they feel toward the mining companies. For some, there is also the pain of losing a loved one to the mines. Behind these women's acceptance of their circumstances lies a pragmatic understanding of the politics of mining and of the communities in which they live.

Giesen's insights into the experiences of miners' wives contribute much to our understanding of the impact of industry, economics, and politics on women's lives.

About this title

About the Author

Carol A. B. Giesen is an associate professor of human development at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

From the Back Cover

Few people in American today live with the dangers and deprivations that Appalachian coal mining families experience. But to the eighteen West Virginia women Carol Giesen interviewed for this book, hard times are just everyday life.

Reviews

Statistics reported in this well-researched study reveal the grim reality of daily life for coal-mining families in Appalachia. Between 1897 and 1939, nearly every day a West Virginia mining family lost a member to the mines (346 deaths per year), while dozens of men suffered injuries daily. Despite modern safety procedures and technological advances that lowered that astounding death rate to an average 22 deaths per year between 1981 and 1986, mining is still dangerous work, with cave-ins, explosions and toxic gases ever-present hazards. To find out how families deal with the stresses and strains of constant danger, Giesen, human development professor at St. Mary's college in Maryland, interviewed 18 coal miners' wives, ranging in age from late teens to the early 80s. Eschewing melodramatic anecdotes and making good use of face-to-face conversations, the author balances the interviewees' recollections of personal experiences with her own insights into the social and economic pressures of the coal-mining industry. In their own words, the women relate their domestic concerns and how they try to shield their husbands from household problems. They describe their fears of job hazards and tell how they cope with stress of strikes, layoffs, mine closings and companies that place more emphasis on profit than on safety. In this study, Giesen provides an absorbing portrait of the hard impact of one industry on real women's lives.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813108454
• ISBN 13: 9780813108452
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 190