"In this remarkable book Gigi Georges explores the lives of five girls in rural Maine over four years. She catalogs their dreams, longings, and awakenings with sensitivity and tact, revealing both nuanced aspects of character and larger points about the complicated world in which these girls live. Downeast is important, arresting, and engrossing.” — Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“This remarkably poignant and timely book should be read by anyone who cares to understand rural America's human tragedies and heroic triumphs. Through the gripping sagas of five young women, Georges not only unsparingly documents rural poverty, joblessness, and opioid addiction, but details how so many people in the rural community have nonetheless kept right on coping, hoping, and caring for each other through grit, goodness, and faith in God. Here is the whole truth about America's rural towns and cities.” — John J. DiIulio, Jr., Frederic Fox Leadership Professor of Politics, Religion, and Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania
“A resonant, beautiful book. The pull of place, the imprint of place on these girls and on all of us is done so well . . . Downeast is a powerful example of the edifying quality of small-town America, and a counter-narrative to the negative stories we hear. It is also empowering to girls—refreshing and so needed.” — Susan Conley, author of Elsey Come Home and Landslide
“An empathetic, observant account of five young women trying to chart their path in rural Maine, and a moving exploration of individuals who want to both transcend and honor their roots in an economy and culture that often overlook girls and women. Georges does the opposite by rigorously adhering to their perspectives, so that we see their world, their choices, and their strength, through their own eyes.” — Amy Waldman, author of A Door in the Earth and The Submission
"Each of these stories reflects the extreme challenges of life in poor, rural America . . . . It’s almost impossible not to care about these fierce young women and cheer for their hard-won successes." — Kirkus Reviews
“A heartfelt portrait of five teenage girls growing up in Maine’s remote and economically depressed Washington County . . . . Enriched by the author’s love of the area and deep admiration for her subjects, this is a worthy tribute to a group of stalwart young women committed to forging their own paths.” — Publishers Weekly
"Georges respects the region's families and way of life that instill generational grit and a self-sufficient work ethic, even as she explores tragedies and dark spots in its community soul. Her characterization of Downeast is thus nostalgic without being sentimental, empathetic without being patronizing . . . Georges’ lovely book will appeal to readers seeking memoirs, understanding of rural worlds, feminist values, or even travel writing." — Booklist
“Well-researched and compelling . . . a celebration of hard work rewarded and family connections cherished. It is not in any way saccharine, but it is a welcome dose of positivity in a troubled time.” — Portland Press Herald
"In this remarkable book Gigi Georges explores the lives of five girls in rural Maine over four years. She catalogs their dreams, longings, and awakenings with sensitivity and tact, revealing both nuanced aspects of character and larger points about the complicated world in which these girls live. Downeast is important, arresting, and engrossing.”
"Georges respects the region's families and way of life that instill generational grit and a self-sufficient work ethic, even as she explores tragedies and dark spots in its community soul. Her characterization of Downeast is thus nostalgic without being sentimental, empathetic without being patronizing . . . Georges’ lovely book will appeal to readers seeking memoirs, understanding of rural worlds, feminist values, or even travel writing."
A resonant, beautiful book. The pull of place, the imprint of place on these girls and on all of us is done so well . . . Downeast is a powerful example of the edifying quality of small-town America, and a counter-narrative to the negative stories we hear. It is also empowering to girls—refreshing and so needed.”
Well-researched and compelling . . . a celebration of hard work rewarded and family connections cherished. It is not in any way saccharine, but it is a welcome dose of positivity in a troubled time.
This remarkably poignant and timely book should be read by anyone who cares to understand rural America's human tragedies and heroic triumphs. Through the gripping sagas of five young women, Georges not only unsparingly documents rural poverty, joblessness, and opioid addiction, but details how so many people in the rural community have nonetheless kept right on coping, hoping, and caring for each other through grit, goodness, and faith in God. Here is the whole truth about America's rural towns and cities.”
An empathetic, observant account of five young women trying to chart their path in rural Maine, and a moving exploration of individuals who want to both transcend and honor their roots in an economy and culture that often overlook girls and women. Georges does the opposite by rigorously adhering to their perspectives, so that we see their world, their choices, and their strength, through their own eyes.
"Georges respects the region's families and way of life that instill generational grit and a self-sufficient work ethic, even as she explores tragedies and dark spots in its community soul. Her characterization of Downeast is thus nostalgic without being sentimental, empathetic without being patronizing . . . Georges’ lovely book will appeal to readers seeking memoirs, understanding of rural worlds, feminist values, or even travel writing."
04/02/2021
Political and communication strategist Georges has observed that throughout Maine's rural Washington County, young women are setting high marks and pushing boundaries in the region's education, athletics, and fishing industry. So, when Georges decided to write this volume dedicated to her adoptive home, she chose Washington County's young women as her subject—focusing particularly on five teenage girls, their tumultuous high school years, and their entry into the worlds of college, work, or marriage. Georges describes five bright and talented young women who exhibit the determination and devotion to home that she says characterizes the Downeast population. The women struggle as well: one wrestles with the legacy of an abusive parent, while others are challenged by questions of faith or old-fashioned attitudes toward gender roles. Georges writes with clear appreciation for each of the young women and has a strong grasp of the complexities of the region, where economic downturns and the opioid crisis balance against its residents' deep communal ties and love for the area's natural beauty and resources. VERDICT A sensitive paean to an oft-overlooked region of the United States and the young women who live there. Recommended for readers seeking books with a strong sense of place or about girls facing the challenges of the 21st century.—Kathleen McCallister, William & Mary Libs., Williamsburg, VA
In reflective tones, Lisa Flanagan’s narration chronicles the journeys of five young women from Maine’s rural Washington county. Author Gigi Georges describes the girls’ hopes and dreams and the geographically isolated region in which they’re grounded. Flanagan’s measured narration suits the documentary-like material as she shares the region’s history and sometimes surprising insights—including COVID’s long-reaching effect on the fishing industry. The audiobook is at once highly personal and also broadly illuminating as Georges invites listeners to infer larger conclusions about small-town life’s values and challenges. These stories from Downeast shed light on the landscape of rural America—and offer hope for its future, which Georges suggests lies in the hearts of girls like these. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
In reflective tones, Lisa Flanagan’s narration chronicles the journeys of five young women from Maine’s rural Washington county. Author Gigi Georges describes the girls’ hopes and dreams and the geographically isolated region in which they’re grounded. Flanagan’s measured narration suits the documentary-like material as she shares the region’s history and sometimes surprising insights—including COVID’s long-reaching effect on the fishing industry. The audiobook is at once highly personal and also broadly illuminating as Georges invites listeners to infer larger conclusions about small-town life’s values and challenges. These stories from Downeast shed light on the landscape of rural America—and offer hope for its future, which Georges suggests lies in the hearts of girls like these. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
2021-03-17not an easy place to grow up.
Georges presents the stories of five young women on the cusp of adulthood in Maine’s furthest northeast county. She began chronicling her subjects, whose names she has changed due to privacy concerns, in their teens, conducting interviews and following them in their lives. Willow grew up with an “abusive, drug-addicted father, although moving in with her grandparents provided a bit of respite—until her grandmother was sent to prison for embezzling. Vivian, Willow’s best friend from early childhood, has a vastly different background. Her financially successful parents had deep roots in the county, but after they divorced, Vivian faced significant emotional challenges. A gifted softball pitcher, McKenna has been hauling lobsters with her father and brother since childhood. In her teens, she saved enough to buy her own boat. As she finished high school, she was torn between offers from two colleges and her passion: becoming one of the few females in the area running their own boats. Audrey is a basketball star and a dedicated member of her school’s civil rights team. Though she matriculated at prestigious Bates College, she found it to be a tough fit and transferred. Josie, the class valedictorian, was accepted at Yale, and she found herself questioning her parents’ conservative religious beliefs. Each of these stories reflects the extreme challenges of life in poor, rural America, areas that are often awash with substance abuse, offer few opportunities for education, and lack decent-paying career opportunities. Georges interweaves the engaging personal tales with recent statistical information, extending the girls’ experiences to illuminate a vast government failure to serve America’s less-populated spaces. In mostly lyrical, always informative, only occasionally trite prose (“Fisherman here don’t care for idle talk”), the author shines an important light on the sobering challenges rural youth are facing.
It’s almost impossible not to care about these fierce young women and cheer for their hard-won successes.
