An acclaimed journalist reflects on her escape from a small Arkansas town while her gifted friend could not, shedding light on the issues plaguing poor, rural white women across America, including unemployment, drug abuse, and sexism. Growing up in the Ozarks, Monica and Darci formed a close friendship, united by their love for reading and learning amidst the struggles of their declining community, marked by broken families and shuttered businesses. They dreamed of leaving their town behind, but while Monica went on to college and achieved her aspirations, Darci and many of their peers remained trapped. Years later, as a journalist covering poverty, Monica learns of a troubling trend: the life expectancy of women in Arkansas has sharply declined, the most significant drop in a century. Returning to Clinton to investigate, she reconnects with Darci, who has become a statistic—a single mother battling addiction, joblessness, and near-homelessness. Confronted with the reality that her friend's fate could have mirrored her own, Monica retraces the pivotal moments and choices that led them down such divergent paths, exploring the societal factors that influence the lives of women like them in the rural South.
