The coal in McDowell County where the rocket boys were from was already in decline in the late 1950s. Its coal was for the most part used to make steel, and the coal companies were owned by the steel companies. When steel began to move overseas, the coal mines were sold and re-sold until the final owners closed the mines and sold the machinery. The geography of McDowell County also works very much against it as there is virtually no level ground. There are solutions but ultimately, I believe the county will simply return to the way it was before the coalfields were developed. I miss the life there, it was a good way to live, and that is the main reason I wrote Rocket Boys, not to celebrate the boys, but the people who gave them everything they needed to succeed and have good lives.