Family connections, traditional activities, educational goals, and fatalism are themes running throughout research and published observations about Appalachia. Information from 3 days of interviews with the author's grandmother, an 87-year-old Appalachian woman, is compared to these common research themes. The interviewee's experiences concerning family connections were consistent with the literature in that they revealed strong family ties and a marriage to a mentally and physically abusive man who kept her isolated at home. Traditional activities such as farming, canning, and quilting were all strongly present in the interviewee's life, which corresponded with findings in the literature. Much of the literature regarding Appalachian beliefs about education portrays Appalachians as being less interested in education, with many considering formal education as a substitute for hard work. Higher education, especially for women, is discouraged. The author's grandmother did not have those experiences. She graduated high in her class and intended to attend college, but finances prevented it. At age 67, she took a few college classes. The fatalism reported in research was not a dominant theme in the interviews, but threads of resignation were detected toward the hardships she endured. While the grandmother's life mirrored many of the research themes, her strength, dignity, and courage overshadowed their negativity. (Contains 20 references.) (TD)