Released this spring, Holler: A Graphic Memoir of Rural Resistance offers a raw and personal look into everyday Appalachians and their decade-long resistance of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Author and climate organizer Denali Sai Nalamalapu invites their readers into the living rooms, workplaces, encampments, and sites of protest of six community members who dared to stand up to the pipeline construction, as each recounts their inspirations, victories, struggles, and learnings. Through endearing illustrations and dialogue, Denali captures the familiar pain and vulnerability of getting consumed by movements, and teases out the complexity of the motivations and hope that fuel activists’ persistence.

At a time when many of us are completely engrossed by the defense of our own communities and land and forests, it can feel impossible to divert attention to anything outside of the daily battles in front of us. ​​​​​​​With the wins and losses of the pipeline fresh in the collective memory, Holler invites us to bring our heads above water for a moment, take a breath, look around. As we heal our own wounds here in the Pacific Northwest, consider our next moves, and resist the urge to run without pause from one fight to the next, we must ground ourselves in inter-generational and intersectional movements that precede us. So the next time you find yourself dreading a community meeting or lacking the energy for the upcoming demonstration, take a reading break, and replenish yourself with this intimate look into our southeast comrades’ most recent campaign. Learning from one another’s tragedies and finding ourselves in one another’s victories is essential to building the most powerful and integrated resistance we can.

Holler author Denali Sai Nalamalapu is coming to the Literary Arts Bookstore (716 SE GRAND Ave., Portland) for a book talk on August 17! Follow them on instagram @denalisai for event details.

You can also order a copy of the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/denali-sai-nalamalapu/holler/9781643265230/?lens=timber-press