Heartland Summary

Summary of Heartland Book by Sarah Smarsh

Name: Heartland
Rating: 4.3 (1331 reviews)
Author: Sarah Smarsh

4.3 . 1331 reviews

Short summary

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth is a book by Sarah Smarsh that shares her life’s events in Kansas and that of her relatives. It examines the cycles of poverty and social class in America and how the class divide shapes the country. Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has written several publications for the New York Times and The Guardian. She also writes on politics, public policy and speaks about economic inequality. In Heartland, she narrates her story to her imaginary unborn child, August, sharing insights about the injustice of the class divide in America, personal experiences from her turbulent childhood, the effect of poverty in her family, and how her past experiences shaped who she is today. The following chapters will reveal the reality of the socioeconomic divide, the disadvantages, and the shame the poor face. “The maternal cycle I was born to felt so hostile to my mission in the world—my amorphous intention to do something “big” in places those women had never gone—that I perceived it as a threat rather than a fate.” ~ Sarah Smarsh

15 min

9 key points

8 insights

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Table of content

Summary of Heartland
About the author
What is Heartland about?
Who should read Heartland
Topics in Heartland

first key point

Poverty has a huge impact on individuals, families, and communities

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Smarsh’s grandmother, Betty, gave birth to her mother, Jeannie, at the age of 16. Her biological grandfather was a Wichita thug who consistently abused and almost murdered Betty. This made her leave Wichita when Jeannie was just a few months old, and they kept moving among urban areas in the middle of the country—Wichita, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, and neighboring towns. When Jeannie started high school, they had changed addresses 48 times.

Moving around was the common lifestyle of many young single mothers and their daughters in her family. They mostly worked several jobs and moved about to escape men to get the chance to do something better.

If you’re wild enough to enjoy it, poverty can contain a sort of freedom—no careers or properties to maintain, no community meetings or social status to be responsible to. ~ Sarah Smarsh

Betty met Arnie, a farmer who owned about 160 acres of farmland. Betty had been divorced six times, but Arnie loved and treated her better than she’d ever been treated. Betty moved with her daughter to Arnie’s farm, and after a few months, they got married.

Teenage Jeannie met Nick Smarsh on Arnie’s farm, a farmer and carpenter and friend of Arnie’s firstborn. Because Jeannie came from a long line of women who worked harder than the men, she respected Nick, who was different from the men she was used to—he worked really hard. They got engaged, and Jeannie became pregnant at 17. After they got married in 1980, Sarah Smarsh was born, making Betty a grandma at 34.

As a kid, Smarsh heard lots of “don’ts”—don’t speak, don’t laugh, don’t cry. The price of her existence was made known, and her actions either did or didn’t justify it.

It was an age-long cycle that existed in her family that Smarsh was determined to break.

Smarsh's family had enough to eat and a roof over their heads, but the poverty she felt the most was the scarcity of her mother’s heart which the traumas of monetary poverty had scarred. She was emotionally impoverished and had a constant longing for a mother who was nearby yet so far. More than wanting her mother’s affection, Smarsh wanted her to be genuinely happy.

The agony of a poor child is just as often for her parents as it is for herself. For a child to survive, her parents must survive as well.

This summary explains how one can be financially okay and still not have it all, amidst other things.

second key point

The American dream has a huge price that varies with the level of poverty

Smarsh’s parents had creative ways of making a fast dollar. When the sale of high-powered fireworks was banned in their area, her family built a fireworks stand close to Cheney lake, which was far from their home, where people spend the weekend. They opened a business and sold heaps of fireworks, making lots of money.

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third key point

Poverty makes motherhood harder, and motherhood makes poverty harder

fourth key point

Frustration of rural life is mostly about opportunity

fifth key point

The relationship between the city and the country has mutual benefits

sixth key point

Being poor and white is the worst kind of failure in America

seventh key point

Home is not just about a shelter but about security, stability, and safety

eighth key point

Poor women become powerful because of the wisdom they gain from their struggles

ninth key point

Conclusion

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What is Heartland about?

"Heartland" is a poignant memoir that delves into the author's personal experiences of growing up in rural America, where poverty and hard work were the norm. Sarah Smarsh vividly portrays the struggles faced by her family and community, shedding light on the harsh realities of being broke in a country known for its wealth. With raw honesty, Smarsh explores the complexities of class, gender, and the American Dream, offering a powerful and thought-provoking narrative.

Who should read Heartland

Individuals interested in understanding the struggles of working-class Americans.
Readers seeking insights into the impact of poverty in rural areas.
Those curious about the intersection of class and economic inequality.

Topics in Heartland

Poverty Memoir American History Social History Sociology Economic Inequality Social Justice the Working Class Poverty Economics Social Issues Economic Policy Social Commentary

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