Growing up amid Kansas wheat fields and airplane factories, the author of the National Book Award finalist Heartland witnessed firsthand the strengths and vulnerabilities of women in working poverty. Meanwhile, country songs by Dolly Parton and other female artists played in the background, telling powerful stories about life, men, and surviving. While explaining how Parton's songs have validated women who go unheard, Sarah Smarsh recounts key events from the singer's life, using them as a springboard for examining the intersections of gender, class, and culture.