Hillbilly Elegy ★★★★★

Hillbilly Elegy (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★★

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance is memoir about a family living in the "Rust Belt" of America. I read this on my Kindle and checked it out from the library. Vance chronicles the life of his family, beginning with his grandparent's migration from Kentucky to Ohio, progressing through his mom's difficult upbringing with an alcoholic father and a mother with poor impulse control. Vance's mother struggled with addiction and made frequent transitions in her relationships, causing a transient childhood for Vance; moving around a lot and never having a stable father figure. There was lots of abuse - verbal and physical - which Vance contextualizes amidst the struggles of the family. Despite the childhood trauma, Vance was able to find his way - an act which he largely contributes to his grandmother. After high school, Vance joined the marines and then went to college and after that to Yale Law School. In addition to chronicling his family's experience, Vance also places them within the context of society as a whole from discussing the mass exodus of people who migrated from Kentucky to Ohio, not just his grandparents; to explaining the study about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and how that contributes to his family and others like them.

This book reminded me how much I enjoy a good memoir. While reading the reviews for this book after reading it, I was surprised to learn that many people felt this memoir helped to explain why Trump was elected in 2016. This book was made into a movie and Glenn Close, who played the grandmother, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She did not win, but she did a great dance to DaButt during the show that is worth checking out. I wouldn't watch the movie if I were you, they changed the chronological nature of the book and focused on the traumas without contextualizing the experiences.

If you liked Hillbilly Elegy, I also recommend Educated by Tara Westover, The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, and Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker.

Happy reading.

Ms.Bjork