Holler A Graphic Memoir of Rural Resistance

A debut graphic memoir—and living history of climate justice—based on the stories of six frontline resisters to the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Appalachia, offering a portrait of the diverse people and places of Appalachia, and the creation of a hopeful movement.

Real people are standing up for both their communities and the planet. Drawing from original interviews with the author, Holler is an illustrated look at six inspiring changemakers whose stories should be better known. Denali Nalamalapu, a climate organizer in their own right, introduces readers to six ordinary people who became resistors of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project that spans approximately 300 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia—a teacher, a single mother, a nurse, an organizer, a photographer, and a seed keeper.

In West Virginia, Becky Crabtree, grandmother of five, chains herself to her 1970s Ford Pinto to stop construction from destroying her farm. Farther south, in Virginia, young organizer Michael James-Deramo organizes mutual aid to support community members showing up to protest the pipeline expansion. These (and more) are the stories of everyday resistance that show what difference we can make when we stand up for what we love, and stand together in community. While each resistor has their own motivation and methods, they share a love for the land and a desire to preserve it. When the world tells them to sit down and back off, each one refuses to be quiet or give up. There is always hope.

More than anything, Holler is an invitation to readers everywhere searching for their own path to activism: sending the message that no matter how small your action is, it’s impactful. The story of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is one of many: the people of Appalachia have resisted fossil fuel projects for a century. And it’s a story we can all relate to, in one way or another, as each and every one of our communities faces the increasing threats of the climate crisis, and the corporations that benefit from the destruction of our natural resources.

For adults and a mature YA audience, Holler is a moving and deeply accessible—and beautifully visual—story about change, hope, and humanity.
 

Denali Sai Nalamalapu is a climate organizer from Southern Maine and Southern India. Denali lives in Southwest Virginia. They have written for Truthout, Prism, and Mergoat Magazine, and their climate activism has been covered in Shondaland, Vogue India, Self, The Independent, and elsewhere. They studied English Literature at Bates College and completed a Fulbright grant in Malaysia. Denali currently leads the grassroots environmental justice coalition Protect Our Water, Heritage Rights (POWHR). You can find them at @Denali_Sai on Twitter and Instagram.