She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs

By Sarah Smarsh

An inspiring, passionate exploration of the life and work of Dolly Parton, and her deep significance for generations of working-class women

"Smarsh and Parton are the perfect pairing" REFINERY 29

The world can't seem to get enough of Dolly Parton. Her image is blazoned across T-shirts, she burns on desks as novelty devotional candles, and well into her seventies she continues to grace awards stages, arenas and talk shows where women of a certain age are rarely seen.

Yet not so long ago, Dolly was best known by many people as the punch line of a boob joke. So, what happened?

In this affectionate, sharply insightful book, Sarah Smarsh charts Dolly's meteoric rise against the backdrop of her own working-class roots. Drawing on her own experience growing up in rural Kansas, Smarsh crafts a resonant portrait of Parton's cultural importance, above all for the women who populate her songs: struggling mothers, pregnant teenagers, diner waitresses with deadbeat boyfriends. Candid, intimate and searching, She Come By It Natural captures the enduring appeal of this singular star.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ONE
• Release date: Jan 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781911590521

Sarah Smarsh

Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has reported for The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, The Guardian, and many other publications. Her first book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her second book, She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Smarsh is a frequent political commentator and speaker on socioeconomic class. She lives in Kansas.