CHRONICLE PICKS—What We’re Reading

 Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America

By Beth Macy

Book Review: Paper Girl Illuminates America’s Fault Lines Through a Hometown Lens

In Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, journalist and bestselling author Beth Macy returns to her birthplace of Urbana, Ohio, to explore the economic, social, and political forces reshaping small-town America. Published in October 2025 by Penguin Press, the book defies easy categorization, weaving intimate memoir with deep reporting to trace the unraveling of the community that helped raise her. 

Macy grew up in Urbana during the 1970s and ’80s, the daughter of a struggling family. Her early years—marked by poverty, an alcoholic father, and the formative experience of delivering newspapers—were also infused with community spirit and opportunity. Through a Pell Grant she was able to attend college and eventually build a successful career in journalism. 

Decades later, she returns to Urbana in the 2020s to care for her aging mother and confronts a hometown transformed. What was once a relatively stable industrial city now grapples with decades of job losses, declining schools, and a rapidly shrinking civic infrastructure. The local newspaper that once served as a source of shared information and identity has nearly vanished—echoing a broader decline in local journalism across rural America. 

The metaphor of the “paper girl”—once Macy’s daily routine and a symbol of community connection—becomes a poignant motif for what has been lost. Where newspapers once knit neighbors together, today’s residents are isolated, reliant on social media and national news bubbles that amplify grievances and intensify political mistrust. 

A Town as America in Microcosm

Macy uses Urbana as a microcosm of broader national trends: economic dislocation, political polarization, and the erosion of shared civic life. Once-thriving factories have closed, opportunities for upward mobility have diminished, and social supports such as robust public education and accessible higher education have weakened. Macy highlights how the Pell Grant that enabled her to attend college now funds students who still struggle with basic housing and transportation, emblematic of structural shifts that have left many behind. 

Perhaps most striking in Paper Girl is the personal drama that accompanies these larger forces. Macy reconnects with friends and relatives whose lives have taken divergent paths. Some have embraced conspiracy theories; others have turned to exclusionary politics. In nearby Springfield, an old acquaintance who was once considered open-minded becomes a vocal opponent of Haitian immigrants during the 2024 presidential campaign, illustrating how economic loss and cultural anxiety can fuel antagonism toward outsiders. 

In conversations with her own family—some of whom hold deeply conservative and evangelical views—Macy navigates fraught territory with empathy and candor. These encounters expose the human costs of political strife, revealing how ideological divides fracture even the closest bonds. 

Diagnostics and Insights

While deeply rooted in personal narrative, the memoir also functions as social analysis. Macy draws on interviews with local residents, educators, and subject-matter experts to diagnose Urbana’s decline—and by extension, the condition of many American communities. She critiques the retreat of economic and civic institutions, the failure of political leadership to address rural needs, and the corrosive effect of fragmented media. 

Her reporting does not spare liberal enclaves either; she argues that coastal progressives have too often dismissed rural grievances, exacerbating a sense of alienation. Yet she also pushes back against narratives that blame marginalized communities for social ills, emphasizing instead the role of economic inequality and policy inertia in fueling discontent. 

Human Stories, Hard Realities

Critics have praised Paper Girl as empathetic and essential, noting Macy’s skill in balancing memoir with reportage that probes the heart of America’s divides. Some readers, however, have expressed frustration with the book’s perceived political slant and its challenge to deeply held beliefs. Ratings on community review sites reflect a broad range of responses but underscore the book’s provocative engagement with contemporary issues. 

In Paper Girl, Macy does not offer easy solutions—but she does pose a crucial question: How do we rebuild the connections and institutions that sustain civic life? Her answer emphasizes the need for empathy, presence, and dialogue across difference.

Five Recommendations for Strengthening Civic Dialogue & Community

Inspired by the themes and insights of Paper Girl, here are five practical recommendations for fostering engagement and community resilience:

1. Reinvest in Local Journalism and Shared Information

Community newspapers, radio, and digital forums that focus on local issues help people stay informed about shared concerns rather than national polemics. Supporting and revitalizing these outlets can rebuild common ground and collective identity.

2. Create Structured Civic Dialogue Programs

Municipalities, schools, and nonprofits can organize facilitated dialogues that bring together residents with divergent views. Programs like community roundtables or deliberative forums encourage listening and reduce polarization by focusing on shared goals rather than partisan positions. (Potluck meals or refreshments before, during, and after are a plus!)

3. Strengthen Civic Education and Opportunities

Invest in civic education that teaches critical thinking, media literacy, and the value of participation. Expanding programs in schools and community centers that emphasize democratic skills can empower individuals to engage thoughtfully and respectfully.

4. Support Economic and Social Infrastructure

Addressing underlying economic stresses—such as lack of jobs, affordable housing, and transportation—can reduce the conditions that fuel resentment and division. Public and private investment in job training, mental health services, and community spaces creates stability and opportunity.

5. Cultivate Inclusive Community Events

Events that celebrate local culture, history, and shared values—such as town festivals, service projects, or cross-community sports leagues—can bridge divides by fostering personal relationships beyond political identities.