Up the Holler

Between the humor and heartache lies the humanity of the characters that are created by Paula Clemons-Combs. She presents readers with fictionalized yet honest accounts of the lives of characters without the stereotypical version of "hillbilly" often given to us through sensationalized clickbait found on social media or television. From the hilarity of two boys holding a funeral for their cat to the utter despair of a woman begging for her grandchild's life, readers will find themselves immersed in the laughter, the prayers, and the sorrows of Appalachia. Paula Clemons-Combs hails from Breathitt County, Kentucky, an area of Appalachia that is often overlooked since the withdrawal of the coal industry. She is a lifelong learner, studying both formally to earn a master's degree in education and informally to become a collector of family genealogy and an avid storyteller. She credits her family with instilling in her a sense of pride and perseverance even in the harshness of a reality set within a region that is experiencing economic depression yet is surrounded by all of nature's glorious beauty.