An optimistic account of rurality, from downeast Maine

Here's an excerpt from Gigi Georges' recent essay, "What a Rural Corner of America Can Teach Us All About Community and Resilience," in Time Magazine:

This celebration [of rural downeast Maine, north of Acadia National Park] starts with a wealth of social capital. Even in the toughest of circumstances—including childhood poverty, limited economic opportunities and opioid addiction—rural-dwellers in these parts sustain themselves and each other through robust community networks, deep connections to the land and sea around them, and optimism about the future of their hometowns. They’ve built community technical education centers to address shortages of boat mechanics, nurses, and aquaculture workers. Their lives are based on a common understanding of the need to support each other—as frequently happens when, if a lobsterman is injured, others step up to pick up his hauls, or when at the end of a grueling day, residents routinely rush home from their fishing boats and workplaces to cheer their high school girls’ basketball team.

Georges formerly worked in the White House and in academia.  She now lives partly in New Hampshire and partly in Downeast Maine.  Her forthcoming book is called Downeast:  Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America (Harper Collins).   

My prior posts from south of Downeast Maine, in the coastal area around Acadia National Park and south of there, are here and here.