Downeast audiobook

All my life, I have been trying to explain to "people from away" what it is like to grow up in Downeast Maine. This book renders the complexity of that experience with sensitivity, honesty and insight. Thank you, Gigi Georges. Although I am a generation older than these girl, I feel seen and understood.

Tucked into the extreme Northeast corner of the United States, Washington County in Maine is one of the most isolated and poverty riddled places in our nation. To the east and north is Canada, to the west is the even more isolated, forest wilderness of central Maine, and to the south is the frigid Atlantic Ocean. Most of the inhabitants either fish, catch lobster or pick blueberries. There are minimal jobs and career options, with a sparse population riddled by fentanyl and drug abuse. A smattering of tiny towns and villages cling to the rocky coast. "Downeast" is a portrait of five Maine girls and their families. Gigi Georges is quick to point out that most of the population are from long lines of family, held here by a fierce loyalty, determination and tradition. Caught up in the heartbreaking realities of life today......rural poverty, isolation, joblessness, opioid addiction, the harsh and dangerous environment, and finally the Covid Pandemic.... Washington County makes for a stark, modern day portrait. "Downeast" offers an observant and compassionate glimpse into the detailed lives of five young women, coming of age in this setting. It pulls no punches, but instead presents an honest, shocking, heartbreaking story of these five lives and what they have to deal with through high school and beyond. So much history and family tradition is both a security and a trap. With amazing empathy, Georges describes how these girls manage and navigate the difficult decisions of their lives, struggling with their demons and the outside world that has forgotten them or tries to make sure they remain irrelevant. As with many things in life, our weaknesses are also part of our strengths. Coping and caring and learning to work together through grit, honesty and faith are central to their perspectives. This book is surprisingly reassuring at our human ability to be resilient and overcome problems. These five girls are simply amazing, and offer hope by their example and determination. But NOTHING in this story is whitewashed, sugar coated or skimmed over. The pain and difficulties of life are presented realistically and bluntly. Somehow these five girls all find ways to create their own paths and move their lives forward. I liked this book a lot. It was current and interesting. There were a lot of characters, as each girl and her family and its history were presented, making it difficult to keep it all clear at times. But I felt like I knew each girl by the end, and was amazed at their combined determination and spirit.This book was very much like J D Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy", which was also a glimpse into the legacy of poverty and isolation in rural America. Instead of lobstering, fishing and blueberries, Vance's book was more about chasing elusive factory jobs and changes in the economic realities in the Heartland. Both stories offer serious food for thought, as this nation of untold wealth and privilege leaves so many of its people to deal with isolation, neglect, abuse and poverty. These kinds of portraits need to shine light on these problems, so we as a nation can admit our failures and find ways to do better.

I thought I was going to read a coming of age story of 5 women. This book is so much more than that. It's a history lesson, it's an economics lesson and a lesson in rural America before and during COVID and it's a lesson on strong females making their way, life and space in their corner of the world. This book is interesting and a bit surprising and I like it!

As someone who grew up in Maine, with entirely different circumstances, I was so moved by this book. I found the author’s approbatory tone regarding the Downeast community’s “continued hope and resilience,” off-putting. But there is no denying George’s ability to write. I was captured by every girl, and became entirely invested. The book was heartfelt and compelling.

Some of the best narrative nonfiction springs from when an author is able to get really granular with the subject at hand. When the writer digs deep, vein after vein of precious literary gems can be unearthed, painting vivid and compelling portraits of people and places. These stories are captivating and enlightening in the best of ways.Some of the WORST narrative nonfiction starts in the same place. These are the stories wherein the author treats the subject(s) as some sort of vaguely anthropological study, holding themselves above the people with whom they are engaging. They parachute into a place and imagine that their brief dalliance is enough to bestow actual understanding.The State of Maine has unfortunately seen a bit more of the latter treatment than the former in recent years, with this place and its denizens being rendered simplistically and/or stereotypically – junk shop kitsch instead of fine art.I honestly wasn’t sure which I was going to get from “Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America,” the new book from Gigi Georges. I’ve been around long enough to know that these efforts to somehow “unlock” the truth of rural America often wind up being little more than condescending confirmations of the author’s already-extant attitudes, cherry picked to prop up whatever thesis they sported upon their arrival.This book is not that.Instead, what Georges has done is, well … do the work. Over the course of years, she spent time with the people of Washington County. Not just the five girls who served as the central figures in the narrative – although she clearly spent A LOT of time with them – but also the people in the community around them. Parents and teachers and friends and co-workers and what have you, all in service to crafting an accurate and honest rendering of who these girls are and how they both shape and are shaped by the place in which they grew up.(Note: The names of the girls – along with some others – have been changed in an effort to protect privacy. However, for the most part, names of places and business and the like have remained the same.)Washington County is among the country’s most rural areas. Distance and circumstance conspire to undercut the opportunities for young people in the region – particularly those of young women. That isn’t to say that success can’t be found – it can and often is. However, finding the best path to that success can be a bit more difficult than in many other places.In “Downeast,” we meet five girls – Willow, Vivian, Mckenna, Audrey and Josie – who have grown up in the various villages and towns of Washington County. While the specifics of their backgrounds are different, the general state of their circumstances is very similar – they are women growing up in a place where opportunity for women is tougher to come by.Audrey is the star basketball player who helped lead the local high school to a state championship and has the opportunity to turn her athletic and academic excellence into a shot at one of the state’s best colleges. Mckenna is an elite athlete in her own right, a top-shelf softball pitcher whose primary goal is to take to the water and captain her own lobster boat, just like her father. Willow has spent much of her life bouncing around, dealing with the issues that spring from her father’s struggles with addiction and abuse; she’s just looking to find her own way. Vivian is a creative soul, a writer who finds herself drifting away from the close-knit family and church life she’s lived since childhood. And Josie is the valedictorian, an elite student heading off to the Ivy League and unsure of the connection she will maintain with the place she called home for so long.And unfurling behind and amidst these stories, the lush landscape of Washington County. The rugged natural beauty and the working waterfronts. The joys and heartbreaks that come from small town lives lived. And the people – oh, the people. We meet fishermen and teachers and coaches (and plenty of folks who are combinations therein), all of whom wear their hearts on their sleeves when it comes to Downeast life. Triumphs and tragedies abound.“Downeast” could easily have been the usual dreck featuring someone from elsewhere (who believes themselves to know better) parachuting in for a few weeks or months and slapping together a story that confirmed what they believed they already know. Part of me feared it would be.Instead, we get a thoughtful, nuanced look at a deceptively complex place and the people who live there. What Gigi Georges has done is make a good faith effort to drill down into the cultural bedrock of Washington County and share the warts-and-all results of her labors. The book is honest in both singing the region’s praises and acknowledging its faults. By placing her focus on these five different-but-similar girls, Georges has crafted a wide-ranging portrait of what it means to live in such a place in the 21st century. We’re offered real insight into these lives, full and genuine characterizations of five frankly remarkable young women (though I doubt any of them would view themselves as such).Far from poverty tourism or half-baked cultural anthropology, “Downeast” engages with the lives of its subjects from a place of respect and egalitarianism. There’s no sense of superiority on the part of the author here, no effort to place herself above the people about whom she’s writing. And that eye-to-eye engagement is why this book works.Well, that and the fact that Gigi Georges can really write. She has a particular knack for capturing a, for lack of a better term, vibe – as someone who has spent his share of time in Washington County, I can vouch for the fact that the energy of the place really crackles forth from the page. The characters come alive as well. These are real people, of course – this is nonfiction after all – but they actually FEEL real, which is far rarer than you might think.“Downeast” is a fascinating read. It will capture the imaginations of those who have never set foot in Washington County, to be sure, but it will also ring familiar to those who have never left it. Growing up is hard; what this book does so well is illustrate the specific difficulties of doing so in this place and time. An insightful, incisive work of nonfiction that celebrates five special young women and the ways of their world.

The standout young women whose high school and early college years are detailed in this insightful view into hardscrabble Washington County demonstrate both the challenge and the hope for resilient and grounded women in the 20Teens and early pandemic.“At the end of each weary day, they would rest knowing that their currency was their trust in the permanence of timeless ideals: a healthy fealty to nature’s rule, an undying connection to the people they loved, the dignity of cracked hands and muddied shoes, and a self-sufficiency that had been woven into their beings as tightly as Grandma Sarah’s canvas horse blanket.” p. 233

Never was this book uninteresting. Ms. George’s takes a ton of information and weaves it into a nearly seamless and riveting narrative of rural life. Now I’m going to treat myself to a fat lobster tail.

I really enjoyed this book about what it means to be born and raised in Downeast Maine. As someone who has spent time in the towns described in the book, I could definitely feel a sense of place. I loved the focus on the women and girls of this fierce place.

As a life-long Mainer, I am fascinated by insights into the people of Maine. Downeast is an area of Maine that I adore and that I'm curious about . . . such hard-working people committed to their values and sports teams and staying close to the nest along with multi-generational poverty, limited educational opportunities, and more than their share of substance abuse. The five girls (young women) featured in Gigi Georges' book face challenges and triumphs and give me hope that they will make a better world for themselves and others.

Gigi Georges’ book Downeast is an engaging and important read. The author follows the lives of five young women as they work through the challenges of growing into adulthood in the poorest and one of the most overlooked counties in the Pine Tree State. Ms. Georges’ writing style is beautiful. The descriptions of the small villages along the northern most coast of Maine are real and compelling. You feel intimately connected to the five girls and their families. You will find yourself encouraging them to follow their dreams. This book is long over-due! Thank you, Gigi Georges!

Good book well researched and well told. Lots of good things to say about rural life, lifestyle and women. Not a polyanna look at rural issues in Maine but encouraging. Works well with the concepts of New Ruralism as defined by research by the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association (NNECAPA) and the Small Town and Rural Planning Division of the American Planning Association (STaR)

This book provides an authentic look at what it's like to grow up and survive in downeast Maine. Really enjoyed the focus on young women and their challenges in this environment.

One of my favorite reads of the year so far. I started the audio on my drive home Sunday and was so into it that I bought the ebook for my kindle so I could read it faster.

5 ⭐ CW: domestic/child abuse on page (emotional and physical), substance misuse/addiction, drug overdose mention, attempted suicide mention, self-harm, generational poverty, sexual assault, anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes "Some will stay, and others will depart, perhaps, at some point, never to physically return. But even if they do not end up in the Downeast of their growing years, they will always be of it. Its robust heart will beat within them." Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America by Gigi Georges is a non-fiction book set in Downeast Maine (Washington County) and is the culmination of four years of in-depth investigative journalism. It truly is a beautiful piece of creative nonfiction. For the locals: do not be deterred by the fact that the author is "from away," it was actually nice to see an outside, unbiased perspective on Downeast life. I think as locals we sometimes go blind the beauty, strength, and resilience of where we are. This books reminds us that though we have struggled and continue to struggle, we have a strong sense of community that is unique to rural America. We are not the downtrodden, uneducated people media outlets like to paint us as. Also lobstermen and women (especially the women!) are badasses. For the Flatlanders: This book isn't just about the five girls mentioned. It's also a generational story and a history of Washington county in the most succinct way. It gives you a glimpses of the fierceness that Downeast women and girls possess, and the heartbreak and hardship that comes with it. George's prose is lyrical and captivating, making you want to see the Downeast waters in person. It also reveals the harsh realities of living in such an isolated place with minimal resources and amenities. We see the pervasiveness of substance use and overdose. Every single person in Washington County knows a friend, family member, or acquaintance who had overdosed. But in all of this we will see our resilience, and strong connection to home and community. If you want to know what Mainers are really like, pick up this book.For myself: I found I could relate more than I anticipated. Though I am originally from Aroostook County (the second poorest county in the state) I found myself relating most to Vivian's story of feeling stifled by her hometown and not feeling like she could be who she really was or find a partner there. Our stories are the reverse of each other. Where Vivian got away from Downeast and moved to Aroostook to feel free, I moved to Downeast for the same reasons. I love the sense of community here, which is what made me stay after undergrad. Unfortunately, I do see myself moving away in the future, because this town is slowly dying. It will always be a place I return to and call home.

I respect Georges's efforts in writing this book. I am still struggling with whether I accept her optimism about girls and how they might save rural America, but I appreciate the way her work pushes on my own conceptions. I certainly believe that leaving was good for ME, though I didn't get around to it until I was 4o. And I suppose, depending on the variables, you could make compelling arguments based on my N of 1 that I might find myself, if not better off, at least in a more economically and geographically/climate stable situation if I hadn't left. . . and certainly in a place where I knew better how to contribute to make the world I live in better.So, Georges, the girls whose lives she opens up for us, and her conclusions, sit with me. I ponder them, and ultimately, I'm sure, if nothing else, they've made my heart a little less hard.

Read if you: Want a revealing and empathetic look at young girls growing up in the most rural and impoverished county in Maine. Librarians/booksellers: Purchase for your readers that enjoy accounts of contemporary society but want something that's more personal and story-based than heavy on statistics. Many thanks to Harper and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.