Riveting and enraging. Flint offers a view of West Virginians as political agents who will fight for what's right, no matter the roadblocks of politicians, company figureheads, and even well-meaning union leaders. We Were Promised is a contemporary look at union organizing, workers' rights, and how corporate greed can devastate local economies--harming the very people and small-town communities our country claims to love.

--E. Gale Greenlee, former teacher-scholar in residence at the bell hooks center, Berea College

We Were Promised raises salient questions about retirees, their rights, and their unions. It showcases the perseverance of organizer Karen 'Momma K' Gorrell, whose political savvy, commitment to the Century Aluminum retirees and their families, and fearlessness in challenging corporate elites make for a phenomenal story that demands to be told. Author Julia Flint reveals the limits of the law, courts, and political systems to protect Americans, exposing the predatory nature of contemporary capitalism and vulnerability of US working people.

--Dan Graff, director of the Higgins Labor Program at the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Social Concerns

Flint focuses on these activists' strategies and emotional ups and downs during a fight that, in many ways, gave them dignity in their darkest hour. This is such an important story for this moment, because so many are being denied retirement benefits that can literally be the difference between life and death.

--Lou Martin, author of Smokestacks in the Hills: Rural-Industrial Workers in West Virginia

Longlisted for the 2026 Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia (WCoNA) Book of the Year Award

This rousing debut account from independent researcher Flint profiles fiery West Virginia activist Karen Gorell, who spearheaded a successful grassroots campaign to get insurance benefits for retired aluminum workers. . . .Flint's detailed reportage captures Gorrell's folksy humor and refreshing forthrightness. ('If [your boss] doesn't have the balls to call me back, he needs to be man enough to tell me, ' Gorrell tells one flustered corporate underling on the phone.) It's an inspiring granny vs. Goliath tale.

-- "Publishers Weekly"

Original, exceptional, inspirational, We Were Promised: How an Appalachian Grandmother Fought a Corporate Giant is an extraordinary story and an especially timely one for this second Gilded Age of corporate robber barons and the local, state, and federal governmental officials that they have bought and paid for -- to the utter detriment of the working class and the erosion of our democracy. A riveting and instructive read from start to finish . . . critically important and unreservedly recommended.

-- "Midwest Book Review"

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Pub date: 2025-10-14

Length: 272 pages