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

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLEThe world can't seem to get enough of Dolly Parton.

Her image is blazoned across T-shirts, she burns on desks as blasphemous 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 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 often-unheard 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.