All That's Unseen.jpg
All That's Unseen.jpg

All That’s Unseen by Emilee Hackney

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Hardcover:

The New York Times bestseller

“[An] achingly intelligent memoir . . . we finally have an Appalachian memoir worthy of its origins.” —New York Times Book Review

“Unflinching . . . Hackney gives readers an intimate look at a way of life unfamiliar to many. . . . [A] gripping exploration of identity, class, religion and a large swath of American life that is fighting with all its might to survive.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution

In her luminous debut, Emilee Hackney offers both a love letter to and a reckoning of the place that made her—a story of losing her faith, finding her way back to her Appalachian home, and discovering what endures

Born and raised deep in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains, Emilee Hackney knew little beyond the ridgelines and coalfields of southwest Virginia. As an eighth-generation Appalachian, her childhood was steeped in the stories of her grandparents—tales of the coal mines’ brutal grip and the way the land, both beautiful and unforgiving, never quite let anyone go. At fourteen, Emilee meets Sam, a senior at her high school, who offers her a glimpse at a promising future together. But as they begin attending services at Deliverance Christian Church as a couple, Emilee is thrust into the radical realm of Pentecostalism. In a culture where marriage at nineteen isn’t uncommon, Emilee is engaged to Sam. Eager to make her relationship work, she embraces the extremist doctrines of the religion, submitting herself fully to God, to Sam, and to a life of repentance. But what she doesn’t yet know is the man she plans to marry is not who he claims to be.

Years later, Emilee finds herself isolated from friends, family, and her own sense of truth. Wracked with shame and self-doubt, she reaches a breaking point. On the verge of spiraling out of control, in a stunning act of defiance and hope, she applies to Harvard; against all odds, she is accepted. From the magisterial mountains of Tazewell to the storied halls of Cambridge, Emilee begins the arduous process of reinventing herself and her relationships with her home, faith, and values against the backdrop of the divisive 2016 election. All That’s Unseen is Emilee Hackney’s fiercely honest memoir about spiritual entrapment, hard-won liberation, and the courage to reclaim her voice after she had been taught to stay silent.

The New York Times bestseller

“[An] achingly intelligent memoir . . . we finally have an Appalachian memoir worthy of its origins.” —New York Times Book Review

“Unflinching . . . Hackney gives readers an intimate look at a way of life unfamiliar to many. . . . [A] gripping exploration of identity, class, religion and a large swath of American life that is fighting with all its might to survive.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution

In her luminous debut, Emilee Hackney offers both a love letter to and a reckoning of the place that made her—a story of losing her faith, finding her way back to her Appalachian home, and discovering what endures

Born and raised deep in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains, Emilee Hackney knew little beyond the ridgelines and coalfields of southwest Virginia. As an eighth-generation Appalachian, her childhood was steeped in the stories of her grandparents—tales of the coal mines’ brutal grip and the way the land, both beautiful and unforgiving, never quite let anyone go. At fourteen, Emilee meets Sam, a senior at her high school, who offers her a glimpse at a promising future together. But as they begin attending services at Deliverance Christian Church as a couple, Emilee is thrust into the radical realm of Pentecostalism. In a culture where marriage at nineteen isn’t uncommon, Emilee is engaged to Sam. Eager to make her relationship work, she embraces the extremist doctrines of the religion, submitting herself fully to God, to Sam, and to a life of repentance. But what she doesn’t yet know is the man she plans to marry is not who he claims to be.

Years later, Emilee finds herself isolated from friends, family, and her own sense of truth. Wracked with shame and self-doubt, she reaches a breaking point. On the verge of spiraling out of control, in a stunning act of defiance and hope, she applies to Harvard; against all odds, she is accepted. From the magisterial mountains of Tazewell to the storied halls of Cambridge, Emilee begins the arduous process of reinventing herself and her relationships with her home, faith, and values against the backdrop of the divisive 2016 election. All That’s Unseen is Emilee Hackney’s fiercely honest memoir about spiritual entrapment, hard-won liberation, and the courage to reclaim her voice after she had been taught to stay silent.

  • Publisher: Penguin Press

    Title: All That's Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir

    Author: Emilee Hackney

    On Sale Date: July 28, 2026

    ISBN 13: 9780593831403

    ISBN 10: 0593831403

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $32.00

    BISAC: Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs; Religion / Christian Living

    Page Count: 384 pages

    Dimensions: 6.35 x 1.3 x 9.29 inches

  • Emilee Hackney is an eighth-generation Appalachian, raised in the coalfields of southwest Virginia. She left the world she knew for Harvard, where she earned a BA in English, and later spent time in Vanderbilt's MFA program before turning to memoir. All That's Unseen is her debut book — a fiercely honest reckoning with the faith, the man, and the mountains that shaped her, and the long road she took to reclaim her own voice.

  • Critics and fellow bestselling authors are calling it luminous, unflinching, and fierce:

    • "An achingly intelligent memoir . . . worthy of its origins." —New York Times Book Review

    • "Unflinching . . . a gripping exploration of identity, class, and religion." —Atlanta Journal Constitution

    • "Devastating and hopeful in turn . . . captures a complex and contradictory world." —Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle

    • "All That's Unseen is a marvel." —Ron Rash, author of Serena

This book is for you if

  • You've ever felt caught between the place that raised you and the person you're becoming.

  • You're drawn to memoirs that wrestle honestly with faith, doubt, and what it costs to walk away from a belief system.

  • You want an unflinching look at Appalachia that refuses both stereotype and easy nostalgia.

  • You love a hard-won coming-of-age story that runs from a Virginia holler to the halls of Harvard.

  • You're interested in how young women reclaim their own voice after being taught to stay silent.

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