Paper Girl

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America is a 2025 non-fiction book by American author Beth Macy. The book blends memoir with journalism, and follows Macy, who grew up poor in Urbana, Ohio, as she returns to her hometown in an attempt to discover how and why she has become politically divided from family and former friends who remained there. She uses Urbana as a microcosm for the challenges facing rural areas in America, and how those challenges have contributed to political polarization throughout the nation.

Macy attempts to approach the issues with an open mind, and conducts interviews with family and townspeople, many with conflicting views from her own, as well as subject experts. She determines that the current political climate of extreme divisiveness owes much to the policies of President Donald Trump, but concedes that the roots of the issue go back much further and that Democrats and the left share the blame.

Paper Girl was generally well received, with The Washington Post saying that "there couldn't be a timelier book". Other critics praised the book's combination of research and personal insight, as well as Macy's willingness to listen and empathize. Also noted was the contrast between Macy's work and other contemporary takes on Appalachia, particularly that of JD Vance's memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Former president Barack Obama listed Paper Girl among his favorite books of 2025.