Hard Hitting Stories From A Hard-Hit People

Written by Ryan G. Dingus, this powerful work reclaims the hidden history of his mixed-ancestry Appalachian family, whose lives were shaped by faith, land, kinship, racial persecution, and survival during the Jim Crow era.

Part family history, part Southern folklore, and part historical witness, the book gathers true accounts passed down through generations—stories of ancestors who endured violence, displacement, injustice, and yet remained people of character, faith, humor, and pride. Through courthouse records, family interviews, photographs, historic documents, songs, oral traditions, and firsthand research, Ryan brings to light a story long hidden from public memory.

Set against the rugged landscape of the Keith family farm and the mountains of Southwest Virginia, the book includes accounts of family tragedy, ghost stories, faith healers, moonshiners, traditional hymns, folkways, and the enduring legacy of a people who refused to disappear.

Ryan G. Dingus never saw this manuscript published. It is now offered to the world posthumously.