Dr. Peggy Shifflett, the author of five books about traditional Appalachian life and culture, will launch her newest book with an author talk and book signing at the Salem Museum on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 11 am. Her books are available in the Salem Museum Gift Shop.
“Mountain Women Live On: Life and Legacy of Appalachian Women” chronicles a way of life which was both beautiful and terrible. Shifflett’s newest book elicits feelings of love, fear, respect, disgust, and awe as she takes readers on a journey through a bygone era. Her book contains a history of the region, a study of Appalachian culture and folklore, a sociological treatise on the family and a social statement extremely pertinent to today’s modern society.
Shifflett was born in the Allegheny Mountains west of Harrisonburg. She is a graduate of James Madison University and Texas A&M University, where she earned her Ph.D. Now living in Salem, Shifflett is retired from Radford University where she served as professor of sociology and the chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She has been a long-time volunteer at the Salem Museum & Historical Society, currently serving as the president of its board of directors.
Shifflett has written four other popular books about her experiences growing up in Appalachia.
- “The Red Flannel Rag: Memories of an Appalachian Childhood” won the 2005 Shenandoah Valley Folk Life Award for the preservation of Shenandoah Valley history.
- Mom’s “Family Pie: Memories of Food Traditions and Family in Appalachia” tells of hunting, gathering, and preserving seasonal food. Recipes and stories of family and food from the best cooks in Peggy’s community are included.
- “The Living Room Bed: Birthing, Healing, and Dying in Traditional Appalachia” focuses on the life cycle of traditional Appalachian families.
- “On the Way to Toe Town: Learning, Curiosity, Rebellion and Play in Traditional Appalachian Childhood” describes the games and toys of traditional Appalachia.
-The Salem Times-Register
