Jared Sullivan‘s debut Valley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe was named a Best Book by The New Yorker, Garden & Gun, and The Washington Independent Review of Books. But like many reported nonfiction debuts, I missed it here at Debutiful. I tend to cover novels, short story collections, essay collections, and memoirs. Still, sometimes a nonfiction title bubbles up to the top of my TBR pile and this book’s topic caught my eye.
In his book, Sullivan chronicles the aftermath of the catastrophic 2008 coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee. Following a small-town lawyer’s uphill battle against the Tennessee Valley Authority, the book exposes systemic negligence, the human cost of corporate greed, and the fight for justice in the face of insurmountable odds.
I needed to learn more about Valley So Low and how Sullivan wrote it. We chatted via email about his work, this book, and what’s next.
Continue reading “Writing the Kingston Fossil Plant Catastophe: A Conversation with Jared Sullivan About Valley So Low”