Somewhere between the Hollywood stereotypes of inbred, cannibal rapists and the television image of stupid, lazy hillbillies, there are Appalachian people who are hardworking, intelligent, and beautiful. The Way it Was is the true story of a few of those folks. Unfortunately, that part of mountain life is disappearing in the face of the opioid crisis, suburban sprawl, and progress. Through a series of seven, day-in-the-life stories spread out over five decades, The Way it Was not only illustrates the culture of southern West Virginia and its people, but it also chronicles how their unique way of life has all but died. Matthew Wolfe’s writing has appeared in Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, Writer’s Digest, Yellow Medicine Review, Animus, Motif, and The Chaucer Review, to name a few. He was the recipient of the 2005 West Virginia Artist Fellowship in memoir writing for an early draft of The Way it Was. Matthew still resides in West Virginia.