City Lights and Pluto Press present
Rayelle Davis in conversation with Jolene McIlwain
discussing the new book
Money in the Mountains: The Cultural Trauma of Appalachia
By Rayelle Davis
Published by Pluto Press
Appalachia’s misery is caused by generations of colonial exploitation
The United States is in a state of decline—a reality decades in the making. At the thin end of the wedge sits Appalachia, one of the nation’s most deprived regions, mythologized by outsiders and misunderstood the world over.
Embedded as a therapist within this community, Rayelle Davis frames the addiction, suicide, and “diseases of despair” that plague the region as a consequence of cultural trauma, exploitation, and systemic neglect. Her work is a searing exploration of generational adversity and a powerful indictment of the psychological abuse of the American Dream.
Davis reveals a profound truth: Appalachian trauma is colonial trauma. As in exploited nations abroad, everything of value—from wealth and health to life itself—is extracted by a distant elite. This courageous book exposes the predatory systems of power and challenges everything we think we know about identity, sovereignty, and the actual cost of inequality in America.
In a time of extreme political polarization, Money in the Mountains is not a requiem for Appalachia, but a manifesto for collective healing.
‘A brave book, at a time that demands bravery in the face of a sink-or-swim systemic ethos. Davis certainly contributes to the trauma literature with her exposé of the unique characteristics of Appalachian trauma, but moving far beyond explicit trauma, she helps us to see Appalachia as “the warning sign of a broken system.” Every page gave me chills. This is a must-read book for the times in which we are living’ – Lisa López Levers, Professor Emerita, Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership, Duquesne University, editor of Trauma Counseling
Rayelle Davis is a licensed therapist specialising in generational trauma in rural working-class communities. She started working as a counsellor in 2016, witnessing the personal stories behind the opioid epidemic, and has gone on to run her own private practice. She is currently working towards her doctoral degree in Counsellor Education and Supervision at Duquesne University. She lives in western Maryland.
Jolene McIlwain was born, raised, and currently lives in a small town in the Appalachian plateau of Western Pennsylvania. She taught literary theory/analysis at Duquesne and Chatham Universities and she worked as a radiologic technologist before attending college (BS English, minor in sculpture, MA Literature). Sidle Creek was chosen by the PA Center for the Book as a Great Reads from Great Places selection for 2025 and it was selected as both an NPR and Library Journal “Best Books of 2023”.
This event is made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation