We Are Not Afraid

We Are Not Afraid outlines the wisdom of a people who always lived in perilous times, and recommends their way of life as a model for living without fear. The people who developed this wisdom were the men and women who built the town of Coalwood, West Virginia, the location of Homer Hickam’s “Coalwood Trilogy,” (October Sky, The Coalwood Way, and Sky of Stone). At the center of the town, and the only employer, was a deep and dangerous coal mine. In order to live happily while still being engaged in the treacherous enterprise of mining coal, the people of Coalwood devised a set of “attitudes” that allowed them to avoid the habits of long-term fear and dread. Homer discusses each attitude and uses stories to illustrate how the people of Coalwood lived and taught their way of life that ultimately assumed: We are not afraid. We are proud of who we are We stand up for what we believe We keep our families together We trust in God but rely on ourselves