Sign up for The Quad, The Assembly's Premium higher education newsletter. Arrives on Thursdays. Try it FREE for 6 weeks!
Sign up for The Caucus, The Assembly's Premium politics newsletter. Arrives twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays. Try it free for 6 weeks!
Join 34,000+ readers who gain important insights into N.C. with our essential statewide newsletter, delivered to your inbox every weekday.
Become part of our community of informed readers today.
Stephanie Jimenez is based in Asheville, North Carolina. Her nonfiction and fiction have been featured in The Guardian, Ploughshares, Joyland, and more. Her debut novel, "They Could Have Named Her Anything," was published in 2019 by Little A Books. You can find her at @estefsays.
Some of Western North Carolina’s “rockhounds” are mining for rubies and emeralds. Others dig for something deeper.
