Hillbilly Elegy

A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

By: J. D. Vance

Narrated by: J. D. Vance

Winner, 2017 APA Audie Awards - Nonfiction

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class.

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over 40 years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.'s grandparents were "dirt poor and in love" and moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility.

But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vance's grandparents, his aunt, his uncle, his sister, and most of all his mother struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their chaotic family history.

A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.

©2016 J. D. Vance (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Memoir with a larger view

This memoir goes beyond a personal or family history; it illuminates social and political issues affecting millions of Americans (ultimately all Americans).

The story J.D. Vance tells is a timely one. It adds an important perspective to the discussion of our society in today's world.

The book is well written and easy to read. (And pretty short.)

As for the narration, it is nice to hear the author read his own story. However, he is not a professional narrator and while J.D.'s voice is fine, it did not enhance the story. I was a bit disappointed that when he quoted someone--himself or others--from his past, J.D. didn't alter his voice to speak with the dialect/accent he grew up with (he mentions this, but never lets us hear what that sounded like).

Wonderful life story close to home

This is a wonderful life story close to home not in its poverty or abuse but in its people. I laughed and cried with Papaw and Mamaw and empathized with J. D.'s account. This is a very entertaining and compelling memoir, one of the best I have read. It deserves all of its accolades.

Painfully familiar

i'm from Kentucky and kept having epiphanies, then looking around to share them with someone.

great story of the 21st century hillbilly's state

this offers great insight into the working class white community and what lies beneath the culture in today's society.

Fantastic.

Thank you JD. Your story was phenomenal. I grew up in a totally different place in the exact same way. Your introspective view of yourself has helped me adapt the same sort of awareness of my own flaws and I've grown as a man for it. If you ever run for office I'd be honored to serve on your team. God bless you sir.

A realistic look at a slice of American culture

Recommending this book to psychologists and medical professionals. Also an insightful read for those who grew up in similar circumstance.

Enlightening

I was hesitant getting this book but I'm very glad I did. I found the view into their live was an example of how tough some people have in this country. It is heart breaking what many people go through each day. In this day and age it shouldn't be that someone has to worry about being or going hungry. I know a lot of people like to blame others for their failures but I really like how he mentioned that taking accountability for our action is one place we need to start to fix the issue. Great book and highly recommend it to you.

Eloquently Written and Read

This is not an anthropological review of "Hillybilly" culture, this is a coming of age story from a wickedly-bright and insightful young man whose open eyes and heart enabled him to thrive in the rest of the world while not turning his back on his family, his childhood, or his people.

Personally, this was a gift because it gave me compassionate insight into the ways in which people who are not like me think, live, and survive.

Author/Reader & survivor JD Vance is impeccable

The way in which the author navigates his narrative of a traumatic childhood in the poorest areas of our country and into his evolved adulthood, is kind, funny, sympathetic and illuminating. I am very grateful having found this book and I believe it has moved my own evolved adulthood in a positive direction.

One story, a large segment of America

What did you love best about Hillbilly Elegy?

The commentary in the end. There is no end to trauma; it's a constant lifelong pressure like coping with any other disability. It doesn't have to be the end game and it shouldn't be secret. I am a diehard liberal but, agree with the supposed conservative summary and call for radical change in rural churches and social work. If you have no desire to climb that hard road to stability and socially engaged children, don't become a parent.

What other book might you compare Hillbilly Elegy to and why?

The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD. Trauma changes the way one's body and brain function. In a culture that thrives on hating social change and competition; it usually means leaving an addictive culture and painful effort to adapt. People do change! The brain changes and like any addiction the desire for bad behavior stays. There is a biological change for those who cope with trauma, the body and brain learn to function and it becomes easier to stay on that path. I feel this path is deeply represented in this book.

Which scene was your favorite?

The deep love this family had for each other. If you're looking for a book about 'tough love' straightening out the youngster, this isn't it. This is someone who experienced flawed love and was able to see that same love in a larger society.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

There are people who score zero on the Adverse Childhood Experience test?

Any additional comments?

Churches have been criticized for teaching followers to be consumerists or non-critical of themselves. I think there is a poor understanding of what these social leaders are trying to achieve and how many liberal messages play so poorly for this large swath of America. The tame unchallenged culture of the 1950's was untrue but, it made people feel safer about leaving poverty and achieving simple goals. I believe these message could be achieved in the current social structures and make an impact. It requires understanding and respect by progressive American culture, as well as retooling the message for change.