Sight to the Blind

The collection portrays efforts to establish permanent communal contact with isolated mountain families in eastern Appalachia, showing newcomers who live among local people to share practical skills, education, and companionship. Through narrative sketches and reflections it contrasts humane, neighborly methods of aid with coercive or doctrinaire approaches, and examines themes of poverty, isolation, cultural pride, and mutual learning. The work balances sympathetic descriptions of everyday life in remote communities with an argument for democratic, hands-on social engagement that respects local character while offering resources and guidance.