Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance

With Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, J.D. Vance reveals what drives a large swath of our population from the south to the upper Midwest. By telling the story of his own extended family, he helps readers understand how geography, religion, and culture have created an environment that is both impoverished and proud of itself.

Vance's grandparents grew up in Eastern Kentucky to families that were large, poor, and tough. His grandmother (Mamaw) and grandfather (Papaw) fled Kentucky for Middletown, Ohio, when she became pregnant. They wed at a very young age, and although they lost their first baby, stayed together for decades. Two of their children managed to do well, but Vance's mother struggled with alcohol, drugs, and too many relationships throughout her life (and continues to do so). Vance shares his life story with us, recounting how he and his sister survived in spite of their circumstances. He attributes his sister with acting as the parent throughout much of his childhood, and his Mamaw with being the force that helped him overcome it all. When he was close to dropping out of high school, his Mamaw insisted that he move in with her and she forced him to straighten out and finish high school. When they began to look at colleges, the financial aid forms and high cost of college proved overwhelming, so Vance decided to go into the Marines. He attributes his four years in the Marines, some of which he spent in Iraq, with giving him discipline and helping him learn about the world. After the Marines, he powered through an undergraduate degree at Ohio State in two years, and enrolled at Yale University Law School, where he met his future wife.

Aside from Vance's personal story, what I found most interesting about Hillbilly Elegy is the historical and sociological background. He compares the migration of poor, working class whites from Kentucky and similar regions to areas in Ohio and Michigan to the migration of African Americans from the South to the North earlier in the 20th century. These displaced, working class whites moved to take advantage of the growth of industry in these areas, and then their descendants were left with no prospects when the factories closed decades later. Many of these areas in the Midwest then became drug-ridden, economically declining areas of poverty. Vance's depiction of the depression and hopelessness of this region is unforgettable.

J.D. Vance. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. New York: HarperCollins, 2016. 264 pages. ISBN 9780062300546.