Dirt Road Revival

How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends on It

By: Chloe Maxmin, Canyon Woodward

Narrated by: Brianna Fernandez

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The Democratic Party left rural America behind.

This urgent rallying cry shows how Democrats can win back and empower overlooked communities that have been pushing politics to the right—and why long-term progressive political power depends on it.

Through 2 successful elections in rural red districts that few thought could be won by a Democrat, twentysomethings Maine state senator Chloe Maxmin (D-District 13) and campaign manager Canyon Woodward saw how the Democratic Party has focused for too long on the interests of elite leaders and big donors, forcing the party to abandon the concerns of rural America—jeopardizing climate justice, racial equity, economic justice, and more. Dirt Road Revival looks at how we got here and lays out a road map for progressive campaigns in rural America to build an inclusive, robust, grassroots politics that fights for equity and justice across our country.

First, Maxmin and Woodward detail how rural America has been left behind. They explore rural healthcare, economic struggle, brain drain, aging communities, whiteness and racism, education access, broadband, Big Agriculture, and more. Drawing on their own experiences, they paint a picture of rural America today and pinpoint the strategic failures of Democrats that have caused the party to lose its rural foothold.

Next, they tell the story of their successful campaigns in the most rural county in the most rural state in the nation. In 2018, Maxmin became the only Democrat to ever win Maine House District 88 and then unseated the highest-ranking Republican in Maine —the Senate Minority Leader—in 2020, making her the youngest woman senator in Maine’s history.

Finally, Maxmin and Woodward distill their experiences into concrete lessons that can be applied to rural districts across the country to build power from the state and local levels on up. They lay out a new long-term vision for Democrats to rebuild trust and win campaigns in rural America by translating progressive values to a rural context, moving beyond the failed strategies of establishment consultants and utilizing grassroots-movement organizing strategies to effectively engage moderate rural voters.

©2022 Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward (P)2022 Beacon Press

Critic reviews

“The book is a lucid look at rural America, and reads as a thrilling political story, told with warmth and smarts.”—The Boston Globe

“Dirt Road Revival reads as part campaign thriller, part self-help candidate manual, and succeeds on both scores . . . a genuine page-turner.”—The Portland Phoenix

“They have demonstrated a commitment to spending time and resources to not only win over rural voters, but to materially improve their lives. It’s time for other Democrats to take note. Rural America is winnable, but to get there, progressives will need to throw out the old roadmap and follow Maxmin and Woodward down this dirt road.”—Skylar Baker-Jordan, The Daily Yonder

Interesting read

The book's first part could have been trimmed down as it was overly idealistic. The second half of the book dealing with specifics scout the campaigns was what I wanted to read about.

I could summarize this book's lessons down to work harder and personalize your communications.

Fantastic book, narrator difficult to listen to.

The book was fantastic and involved but the narrator was frustrating, as if she had t read the book until the recording session and stumbling through words didn’t help.

Good Content, Terrible Narrator

The content of the book was good and I agree with the approach that the authors took in their campaign.

However the narrator literally sounded like a robot with an extremely unnatural cadence and terrible word flow. The out of place pauses make it sound like they pause ever time they get to the end of the line on the page before moving to the text on the line below. This make it difficult to listen to.

Politics as a life of love

I’ve been in politics in my local community for nearly two decades, running for office several times. I’m re-energized and excited for this upcoming campaign season with a newfound hope in having deeper conversations with my neighbors. I really appreciated the tactical approach detailed for several chapters after setting the stage with an engaging narrative.

Breakthrough model for all campaigns

Dirt Road Revival is an inspiring and moving account of Democracy in action, in a way that the modern Democratic Party has sadly forgotten. Bravo! to Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward for showing us a way out of the deep hole the party has dug for itself dismissing a large portion of the voting population and taking for granted another large portion.
As someone who has been involved in many campaigns I can say yes, the literature is boringly bland, the scripts are too, listening to people’s needs is not really on the agenda and volunteer support is lacking. A pep talk to volunteers consists of “Okay, let’s get to work!”
Chloe and Canyon show how campaigning, while never easy, can be fulfilling if it does something we all want - builds community, and that community outlasts an election cycle and can itself make the world a better place. Because of this, I am confident this model could work just about anywhere.
Chloe Maxmin for DNC Chair!!!

Read by a bot, though not advertised as such

Narration so distracting I struggled to focus on and understand the content, a tragic loss. I spent as much time wondering why the book was read by a bot and about what I would write in my review to warn others as I did thinking about the otherwise interesting content. An utter Audible fail, don’t get it on Audible, just buy the book.

Great content. Terrible narration.

I was really looking forward to the audio version of this great book so I could listen while driving. Sadly however this is basically unlistenable. The narrator’s delivery is all over the place: emphasis on the wrong words or phrases, odd and inappropriate pauses and breaks, and so many other odd inconsistencies. The choppy delivery sounds almost like a computer voice, or at best someone who is seeing the text for the first time. I hate to be critical, but I can’t even get through the first couple of chapters. I’m disappointed.