This essay collection cuts to the soul of Akron and its people. In 2014’s The Hard Way on Purpose, award-winning writer David Giffels bluntly states: “I have spent my whole life watching people leave. This is a defining characteristic of the generation of postindustrial Midwesterners who have stayed in their hometowns.” Instead of focusing on brain drain and those who move away, Giffels muses on what it’s like to stay in a place like Akron and how it shapes us. “Here, uniquely, we do things the hard way on purpose,” he writes. “We recognize a virtue and a necessary creativity in choosing to do things that way.” He ponders our cycle of feeling hope, experiencing loss and believing again. In a city desperately seeking identity, he looks at what we hold onto: remnants of being the Rubber Capital of the World, being the hometown of NBA phenom LeBron James, claiming native rockers like Devo and more. He even humorously riffs on our unpredictable weather: “In Ohio most days, the weather is the most dynamic and remarkable aspect of our existence.” His essays not only provide insight into a place we love but also answer the question of who we are — grit and all.
