Beth Macy
@bethmacy.bsky.social
Candidate for Congress, Author of DOPESICK and PAPER GIRL, thrifting champ, compulsive note-taker, and miner of stories about outsiders & underdogs.
To volunteer and/or donate to my campaign: http://www.bethmacyforcongress.com.
To volunteer and/or donate to my campaign: http://www.bethmacyforcongress.com.
We need leaders in Congress who put working people first. That’s why I’m running for office.
January 18, 2026 at 4:48 PM
We need leaders in Congress who put working people first. That’s why I’m running for office.
Thanks Rachel!
I read @bethmacy.bsky.social memoir Paper Girl this week and haven’t shut up about it since I started. It’s excellent. Go read it.
She’s also running for Congress in VA’s 6th, where I lived briefly. Go check that out too.
She’s also running for Congress in VA’s 6th, where I lived briefly. Go check that out too.
January 16, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Thanks Rachel!
Reposted by Beth Macy
Point well made by Carole: “Find me any candidate for anything out there who can do this ground-level reporting, other than @bethmacy.bsky.social” Beth will be a great advocate in Congress.
Carole Tarrant (@caroletarrant544599)
Find me any candidate for anything out there who can do this ground-level reporting, other than @Beth Macy!
substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Point well made by Carole: “Find me any candidate for anything out there who can do this ground-level reporting, other than @bethmacy.bsky.social” Beth will be a great advocate in Congress.
Thank you!! I’m looking at my feisty, funny Mom, probably mirroring back her sass.
Read "Paper Girl" by @bethmacy.bsky.social I thought the cover photo is everything. Who has a similar picture - confident, in front of a humble backdrop - believing one could go far with help from our community? If born in the 60's, lots of us. If born in the 2010's, different pictures. Must read.
Paper Girl
About the Book From one of our most acclaimed chroniclers of the forces eroding America’s social fabric, her most personal and powerful work: a reckoning with the changes that have rocked her …
intrepidpapergirl.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Thank you!! I’m looking at my feisty, funny Mom, probably mirroring back her sass.
I’ve talked to hundreds of people in the district, and if I’ve learned one thing it’s that people are angry and they want change. Go to mobilize.us/bethmacyforcongress to join our next Listening Session and make your voice heard.
January 14, 2026 at 4:54 PM
I’ve talked to hundreds of people in the district, and if I’ve learned one thing it’s that people are angry and they want change. Go to mobilize.us/bethmacyforcongress to join our next Listening Session and make your voice heard.
Thank you, so kind!
I just finished reading Paper Girl by @bethmacy.bsky.social Holy Moly, this is an excellent book. I highly recommend you read it if you want to understand MAGA in small towns/rural areas in the Midwest.
Here is a gift article to the NY Times book review of Paper Girl www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/b...
Here is a gift article to the NY Times book review of Paper Girl www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/b...
Revisiting Her Hometown, a Journalist Finds Anger, Addiction and Despair
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Thank you, so kind!
Reposted by Beth Macy
Happy New Year Lowell. "Paper Girl" by Beth Macy is Obama's #1 pick on his reading list. Put it on your 2026 list!
January 1, 2026 at 4:40 AM
Happy New Year Lowell. "Paper Girl" by Beth Macy is Obama's #1 pick on his reading list. Put it on your 2026 list!
Reposted by Beth Macy
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
Kara Swisher talks to Beth Macy & Jacob Silverman, authors of 2 great books!
Kara Swisher talks to Beth Macy & Jacob Silverman, authors of 2 great books!
New Year's Special: On with Kara Swisher
Podcast Episode · Hacks On Tap · 12/30/2025 · 1h 7m
podcasts.apple.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:13 PM
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
Kara Swisher talks to Beth Macy & Jacob Silverman, authors of 2 great books!
Kara Swisher talks to Beth Macy & Jacob Silverman, authors of 2 great books!
Reposted by Beth Macy
I'm about 100 pages into Beth Macy's PAPER GIRL and was thinking, "There are a lot of good threads here for a solid, cutting-edge Democratic campaign" and lo and behold turns out that one person who also thought so was Beth Macy!
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
She’s Written Bestsellers About Appalachian Struggles. She’s Running for Office. But Don’t Compare Her to JD Vance.
“Dopesick” author Beth Macy’s unlikely bid for Congress.
www.politico.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:41 PM
I'm about 100 pages into Beth Macy's PAPER GIRL and was thinking, "There are a lot of good threads here for a solid, cutting-edge Democratic campaign" and lo and behold turns out that one person who also thought so was Beth Macy!
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Reposted by Beth Macy
The big differences, other than ideology: 1) Beth Macy has integrity, JD Vance has none; 2) Macy has courage, Vance is a coward; 3) Macy cares about people, Vance doesn't GAF... bluevirginia.us/2025/12/vide...
December 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
The big differences, other than ideology: 1) Beth Macy has integrity, JD Vance has none; 2) Macy has courage, Vance is a coward; 3) Macy cares about people, Vance doesn't GAF... bluevirginia.us/2025/12/vide...
Reposted by Beth Macy
I agree about those root causes. Doesn’t the book read like an elegy? To me, @bethmacy.bsky.social is today’s Thomas Gray while Papergirl is another stunning “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” and cannot be read any other way.
It’s loss. It’s grief though, too, because it’s immediate.
It’s loss. It’s grief though, too, because it’s immediate.
December 29, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I agree about those root causes. Doesn’t the book read like an elegy? To me, @bethmacy.bsky.social is today’s Thomas Gray while Papergirl is another stunning “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” and cannot be read any other way.
It’s loss. It’s grief though, too, because it’s immediate.
It’s loss. It’s grief though, too, because it’s immediate.
Thanks Book Nook listeners and Vick!
Top Book Nook 2025 shows-chosen by listeners:
1. Stephen Cannell (2003)
2, Laura Lippman
3. Andrew Welsh-Huggins
4. Indu Sunderasan (2003)
5. Jeremy Jones
6. Megan Abbott
7. Beth Macy
8. Normandy Farms (2002)
9. L. Annette Binder
10. Phil King
@thejeremybjones.bsky.social @bethmacy.bsky.social
1. Stephen Cannell (2003)
2, Laura Lippman
3. Andrew Welsh-Huggins
4. Indu Sunderasan (2003)
5. Jeremy Jones
6. Megan Abbott
7. Beth Macy
8. Normandy Farms (2002)
9. L. Annette Binder
10. Phil King
@thejeremybjones.bsky.social @bethmacy.bsky.social
December 27, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Thanks Book Nook listeners and Vick!
Reposted by Beth Macy
I urge you to read Paper Girl by Beth Macy. She did a very deep dive on this situation, based on her hometown, her own family and friends. Incredibly insightful.
December 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I urge you to read Paper Girl by Beth Macy. She did a very deep dive on this situation, based on her hometown, her own family and friends. Incredibly insightful.
Reposted by Beth Macy
Both of these authors happen to live in the communities they write about.(Well, Kingsolver's is fictional, but anyone familiar with S/W Va knows it's barely fictional.)
They wrote so authentically because they know those communities, not because they have more empathy for those particular addicts.
They wrote so authentically because they know those communities, not because they have more empathy for those particular addicts.
December 26, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Both of these authors happen to live in the communities they write about.(Well, Kingsolver's is fictional, but anyone familiar with S/W Va knows it's barely fictional.)
They wrote so authentically because they know those communities, not because they have more empathy for those particular addicts.
They wrote so authentically because they know those communities, not because they have more empathy for those particular addicts.
Barbara Kingsolver nails how the opioid crisis has changed generations of Appalachian families. Addicted folks are not moral failures and criminals; they’re patients with a treatable medical condition.
Gift article
I'm sure this is in MT, too, and everywhere with low density healthcare and a higher percentage of people make a living via physical labor.
Highly recommend Demon Copperhead. Kingsolver's writing is superb. Also Dope Sick by Beth Macy.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I'm sure this is in MT, too, and everywhere with low density healthcare and a higher percentage of people make a living via physical labor.
Highly recommend Demon Copperhead. Kingsolver's writing is superb. Also Dope Sick by Beth Macy.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | In Appalachia, Children Inherited the Opioid Crisis (Gift Article)
The pain of drug addiction continues to course through towns like Clarksburg, W.Va., where many babies are born withdrawing and have to be taken from their parents.
www.nytimes.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Barbara Kingsolver nails how the opioid crisis has changed generations of Appalachian families. Addicted folks are not moral failures and criminals; they’re patients with a treatable medical condition.
Reposted by Beth Macy
I've now watched the censored 60 Minutes report on CECOT. If you watched it too—and if you have any decency at all—I'm sure you came to the same conclusion I did: winning elections won't be enough; people like Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem will need to be charged and imprisoned.
December 24, 2025 at 5:40 AM
I've now watched the censored 60 Minutes report on CECOT. If you watched it too—and if you have any decency at all—I'm sure you came to the same conclusion I did: winning elections won't be enough; people like Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem will need to be charged and imprisoned.
Or like a rack of pins at Lee-Hi Lanes! Or like a hot dog on a carousel at the Weiner Stand! #GoLocalOrGoHome
Go, Beth Macy! She gonna roll Benedict Cline like a ski-ball game at Lakeside Park!
Beyond honored and excited to see Paper Girl at the top of my favorite president’s list!
December 20, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Or like a rack of pins at Lee-Hi Lanes! Or like a hot dog on a carousel at the Weiner Stand! #GoLocalOrGoHome
Thanks!
A great president and terrific author…and soon-to-be fantastic congresswoman! Congrats, @bethmacy.bsky.social!
Beyond honored and excited to see Paper Girl at the top of my favorite president’s list!
December 18, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Thanks!
Beyond honored and excited to see Paper Girl at the top of my favorite president’s list!
December 18, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Beyond honored and excited to see Paper Girl at the top of my favorite president’s list!
Reposted by Beth Macy
I'm encouraged!
So many people I know are getting involved, running for offices high and low, fighting to restore sanity and competence. Look at @bethmacy.bsky.social running for congress in VA, and now a friend in Ohio has just informed me he's running for a county commissioner seat.
So many people I know are getting involved, running for offices high and low, fighting to restore sanity and competence. Look at @bethmacy.bsky.social running for congress in VA, and now a friend in Ohio has just informed me he's running for a county commissioner seat.
December 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I'm encouraged!
So many people I know are getting involved, running for offices high and low, fighting to restore sanity and competence. Look at @bethmacy.bsky.social running for congress in VA, and now a friend in Ohio has just informed me he's running for a county commissioner seat.
So many people I know are getting involved, running for offices high and low, fighting to restore sanity and competence. Look at @bethmacy.bsky.social running for congress in VA, and now a friend in Ohio has just informed me he's running for a county commissioner seat.
Reposted by Beth Macy
Announcing the National Book Critics Circle 2025 Longlist for Autobiography
December 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Announcing the National Book Critics Circle 2025 Longlist for Autobiography
So grateful for this prestigious honor! Amazing company to keep!
December 16, 2025 at 6:58 PM
So grateful for this prestigious honor! Amazing company to keep!
Thank you so much to my great friend Danny Strong for his support. Danny was the showrunner for Hulu’s adaptation of “Dopesick” and truly understands that we need treatment, not incarceration.
December 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Thank you so much to my great friend Danny Strong for his support. Danny was the showrunner for Hulu’s adaptation of “Dopesick” and truly understands that we need treatment, not incarceration.
Wishing you peace, strength, and a joyful Hanukkah.
The news from Australia was a sobering reminder that antisemitism is not just history.
And yet the Jewish people have endured, rebuilt, and found light even when it was scarce.
May this be a time of warmth and safety for all.
The news from Australia was a sobering reminder that antisemitism is not just history.
And yet the Jewish people have endured, rebuilt, and found light even when it was scarce.
May this be a time of warmth and safety for all.
December 15, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Wishing you peace, strength, and a joyful Hanukkah.
The news from Australia was a sobering reminder that antisemitism is not just history.
And yet the Jewish people have endured, rebuilt, and found light even when it was scarce.
May this be a time of warmth and safety for all.
The news from Australia was a sobering reminder that antisemitism is not just history.
And yet the Jewish people have endured, rebuilt, and found light even when it was scarce.
May this be a time of warmth and safety for all.
Reposted by Beth Macy
Major endorsement for Beth Macy in VA06 - by Sen. @kaine.senate.gov. For a bunch of reasons - name ID, money, endorsements - Macy appears to be the favorite for the VA06 Democratic nomination at this point. bluevirginia.us/2025/12/vide...
December 10, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Major endorsement for Beth Macy in VA06 - by Sen. @kaine.senate.gov. For a bunch of reasons - name ID, money, endorsements - Macy appears to be the favorite for the VA06 Democratic nomination at this point. bluevirginia.us/2025/12/vide...