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MUD CREEK MEDICINE

The Life of Eula Hall and the Fight for Appalachia
Here is the deeply moving story of a true American hero who truly became the good she wanted to see in the world. Any reader who meets Eula Hall through Kiran Bhatrajus wonderful book will be the better for having read it. Silas House, NEH Chair of Appalachian Studies at Berea College and award-winning author of Clays Quilt and The Coal Tattoo

After a mysterious arson in 1982, many people thought the clinic would close forever, but Eula fought back and rebuilt the clinic, which stands today in Floyd County, Kentucky. Powerful and profound,Mud Creek Medicinechallenges perceptions of Appalachia, and shows that thepersonal stories of individuals in the mountains often do rise to the heights of drama and intrigue, and reach to the depths of the American experience. Eula Halls life is no exception. She fought on, and at times risked her life, not for fame or accolades but, in her words, for the people.

MUD CREEK MEDICINE

The Life of Eula Hall
and the Fight for Appalachia

MUD CREEK MEDICINE

The Life of Eula Hall and the Fight for Appalachia

BHATRAJU

The life of Eula Hall is a saga of trial and triumph. She didnt win every battle but she won more than she lost. The war is not over, but Eula will be ghting for her people when Gabriel blows his horn. A must-read for anyone interested in the struggles of the people of Appalachia. Paul Patton, 59th Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Chancellor of the University of Pikeville Health care workers have always been the unsung heroes on our nations frontlines. Drawing from a treasury of interviews, Kiran Bhatrajus insightful and heartfelt tribute provides long-overdue recognition of Eula Halls enduring legacy and the extraordinary history of her Mud Creek Clinic in Eastern Kentucky. While deeply rooted in Appalachian resiliency, Halls question years ago to Senator Ted Kennedy remains as important as ever: So, Senator, is it the governments responsibility to give health care to its people or not? Jeff Biggers, author of The United States of Appalachia Appalachia has always been an anti-South within the South a place where progressive politics were nourished by the excesses of unbridled capitalism. Kiran Bhatraju has written a gritty story about a true American heroine whose life serves as a powerful and timely reminder that basic health care is a fundamental right and responsibility of all citizens in a democracy. Tracy Thompson, author of The New Mind of the South

Kiran Bhatraju is a writer and entrepreneur from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. His father worked as a physician at Pikeville Medical Center and the Mud Creek Clinic for two decades. He currently resides in Boston with his wife Sara.

Eula Hall is a truly inspirational gure not only for Kentuckians, but for all who strive to build strong communities and empower their residents. Bhatrajus lively telling of her story reminds us that the human spirit is as strong as the mountains. Honorable John Yarmuth, U.S. Congressman Third District of Kentucky

From deep in the mountains of Appalachia to the steps of Capitol Hill,Mud Creek Medicinechronicles the life of an iconoclastic woman with a resolute spirit to help her people. Eula Hall, born into abject poverty in Greasy Creek, Kentucky, found herselfthrough sheer determination and willat the center of a century-long struggle to lift up a part of America that is too often forgotten. Through countless interviews and meticulous research, Kiran Bhatraju, a native of Eastern Kentucky, deftly traces Eulas life from impoverished hired girl to community activist. Eula served as a foot soldier in the War on Poverty, President Lyndon B. Johnsons noble attempt to change the trajectory of a timeless people. That work sparked her determination to follow her own brand of tough-love, bootstrapped compassion for a lifetime. Eulas story shows how one woman could make a difference through a clear-eyed understanding of the nexus between politics, wealth, labor, and disease. Mud Creek Medicinetakes the reader through Eulas experiences with moonshining, labor strikes, and ghting against severe domestic abuse, to eventually building and managing her clinic.

MUD CREEK MEDICINE

The Life of Eula Hall and the Fight for Appalachia

Cover photo: Eula Hall and the burnt Mud Creek Clinic, 1982, courtesy of The Courier-Journal

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