The beauty and despair of Appalachia

What do you know about Appalachia? Fancy Gap is the debut novel by Zak Jones, and it challenges the preconceptions we might have about the region. The story follows three generations of an Appalachian family as they navigate poverty, illness, extreme religion … and the eternal struggle of finding one’s place in the world. There’s no better person to tell the story than Zak, who grew up in the region and has deep connections to its culture. This week, Zak joins Mattea to talk about his upbringing, how religion shapes the culture and why you might be wrong about Appalachia. Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Meth and murder in rural America Ocean Vuong finds beauty in a fast food shift Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and tiktok @cbcbooks

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The beauty and despair of Appalachia is an episode from Writers and Company from CBC Radio by CBC.

This episode is 00:35:52 long.

This episode was published on Mar 1, 2026.

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