THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER IS NOW A MAJOR-MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY RON HOWARD AND STARRING AMY ADAMS, GLENN CLOSE, AND GABRIEL BASSO“You will not read a more important book about America this year.“—The Economist “A riveting book.”—The Wall Street Journal“Essential reading.”—David Brooks, New York TimesHillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of … Journal
“Essential reading.”—David Brooks, New York Times
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for more than forty years, has been reported 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 one of their grandchildren would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that J.D.’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, never fully escaping the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. With piercing honesty, Vance shows how he himself still carries around the demons of his 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.
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Sometimes the writer picks up a book with research for a future novel in mind. For a selection on my homework list, Hillbilly Elegy vastly exceeded my expectations: jarring, moving, and ultimately uplifting, this true story of J.D. Vance’s journey from childhood in poor, rural white America to the hallowed halls of Yale Law School (and beyond) will open your eyes about the struggles—both external and internal—faced by many in the Appalachia region of present-day America.
Highly recommended.
Fascinating analysis of the challenges facing an overlooked and much maligned American minority, building from the experiences and family background of the author. Wonderful characters and the author himself comes across as exactly the sort of person one would wish to have by one’s side in a tight corner. Once started, almost impossible to put down.
A marine, a Yale law school graduate, and a hillbilly. Sounds like Hollywood-scriptworthy triumvirate of unlikely comrades for a dramedy caper. But in this remarkable memoir, the three are all the same person—the author. This is a rending story: an account, an analysis, and a parable about family dynamics in white, working-class Kentucky Appalachia. Vance’s ability to blend the passionate telling of his often-devastating personal tale with more dispassionate and unflinching description of the forces at work in his family’s Appalachian culture makes for a rare, fully dimensional picture of a corner of the country most of us know nothing about and too often judge based on stereotypes. Vance applies the badge of “hillbilly” to himself and his people without shirking or apologizing for its connotations, but also without defiance or romanticizing. The trauma of a childhood lived with a drug-addicted mother who cycles through numerous boyfriends and husbands is common memoir fare (still poignant and at times sickening), but it’s Vance’s relationship with his hardcore-hillbilly grandparents that truly draws us along. In the hands of a less capable writer, it could have come off as corny; instead, we come to see in its slow and artful construction that it is a love song to the people he most revered and to whom he credits with his breaking out of the cycle of dysfunction and poverty, and in doing so, to be able to tell us a story we need to hear.
A gut-wrenching portrait of a part of America few of us experience, Appalachia. The story of Lee Vance’s upbringing is eye-opening and tragic. But I hungered for an answer to the economic failure in this part of the country, and instead it feels hopeless due to the culture itself. The only solution seems to be to leave, and that is hard to accept. I would have liked since this is a non-fiction book, I would have liked to see more balance in the portrayal of the people– of course they are not all lazy, uneducated, and unreasonable. I would like a more pro-active ending about how the Hillbilly culture can survive in America.
As a life long (nearly 60 yrs) New Yorker, moving out to Ohio to be with my Ohio born and raised fiance I encountered culture shock of an unexpected kind – hillbilly/redneck culture. NYC is so diverse, multi-lingual, multi-cultured, but didn’t leave me prepared for what I encountered out here.
My fiance was from Middletown Ohio too, even having the same math teacher as Mr Vance. He didn’t spend all of his formative years in Middletown, but enough of them for him to recognize a need to stay out of there as much as possible. But, the influence is there, and cannot be mistaken for anything else. Reading this book was an enlightenment on many levels, helping me understand some of the culture, customs and attitudes of the area. (I live about 20 minutes north)
Much of what Mr Vance describes from his youth seems fantastic, unreal, and unbelievable, but I have meet enough folks now that his experiences were not unique, and still happen. I have met families where it is happening right this very moment, where the greatest aspiration is to stay clean enough (from drugs) and no criminal record to be able to join the Army just to get out of Middletown. Going for an education beyond high school is an aberration.
This book is an insight to the forgotten lives of people in fly-over states. Too often, we hear – move to where the well paying jobs are, but the cost of living out here is so much less than the Coasts, it is an economic prison for many. Without the advanced education, there is little opportunity for economic migration. Mr. Vance is a local celebrity for his national recognition here, but at least the folks that I have met don’t seem to have taken any inspiration to do as he has, and truly go for the American Dream. It seems if it doesn’t have an F150 in it, it isn’t much of a Middletown dream. Read this book, learn from it…and remind yourself it is fact, not fiction.
I did not choose to read this book; my book club chose it. I am so glad I gave it a chance! I volunteer with CASA in representing children in abusive and neglected homes. I will never see these kids and their environments the same again. Every person — adult and child — must be measured with an eye to their environment. Love and teaching come in many shapes and forms and must be judged only in that context in which they are administered. This book gave me both anguish and hope!
I must admit that the only reason I read this book was for a book club discussion. And boy, will we have lots to discuss! This is an insider’s view of poverty and the toll it takes on child and the community around him. On the personal side, thank goodness the author had the support and encouragement of his grandparents, sister, and aunt. Thank goodness he had some basic common sense and intelligence that helped him survive. Thank goodness he decided to join the Marines. Thank goodness he made solid college and further education decisions. For him, these things allowed him to rise about the tragedy and stressors of his childhood.
But, as he reflects back, how can others in his same situation then and now do the same? This isn’t so much about about money, or the lack of, but about an attitude and a mentality of helplessness and hopelessness. What are the answers? Who or what is to blame? While the author doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, he does a good job of exploring thoughts and options. He does reach some conclusions, but knows that the problems are too big for one person or the government to change easily. I appreciate the insights into his own struggles now as a successful adult – struggles instilled in him as a child. I also appreciate that his reflections do not take the reader on a pity party, but challenge us to consider circumstances and attitudes behind behaviors. Perhaps true understanding and empathy will be the start to finding helpful solution possibilities for Americans in crisis.
I’ve lived in KY for 22 years and WV before that. I’ve meet people who are exactly like the people in this book. Very true portrayal of life in Appalachia.
Coming from the Appalachians myself, I could relate to much of the book because of characters in my life years ago. J D Vance did a great job recounting his life and I accept the book more as a social commentary than an autobiography.
Thought-provoking autobiography for those who want to learn more about people whose cultural background cause them to live and think differently.
Wow what a great book! Never thought about what a ” hillbilly ” really was or what the term really meant. Loved all the personal and social issues I never realized. You will truly understand one of america’s saddest problems so much better after reading this book! Can’t put it down!!
It is always more important to learn from someone who has lived through certain life experiences than someone who only has opinions about what it would be like. J.D. Vance experienced positive and negative situations of being from an Appalachian community. He’s the one who can tell that story truthfully.
I’m conflicted about this book. On one hand, because I grew up in this part of America, I knew a lot of people like J.D. and his family so I could empathize with his personal story and found it interesting. I also thought Mamaw and the uncles were hilarious. But on the other hand, his personal story and opinions seemed like all this book was, and I was hoping for (expecting?) so much MORE. More research-supported information, more insights into WHY people place blame where they do, more suggestions on ways to address some of the issues that are familial and societal rather than political and economic.
It’s not that I didn’t expect to like this book. It’s that I didn’t expect to like it as much as I have. It’s absolutely fascinating and rings with truth. A totally different view point.
Very timely book , especially after the recent election.
I applaud the message Vance sends to folks in the Rust Belt and Appalachia. The government can’t fix problems of joblessness and the social ills that follow. Only individuals can do that. His story is brave, ruthlessly honest, and gets at the heart of how poverty can create generations of demoralized souls, but also how education is the answer. The story is peopled with fascinating characters, in particular, Mamaw Vance who has more grit than a sand quarry. She provided so many laugh out loud moments for this reader.
I enjoyed this book, but I worry that Hillbilly Elegy reinforces the idea that rural conservatives are uneducated and ignorant, though this is unlikely the author’s intent.
Rural conservatives as a whole, are not a people in crisis. Nor are they all ignorant and uneducated as the media would have you believe. The reason rural conservatives vote the way they do is that they value different things from government than coastal liberals. It’s that simple. How do I know this? I’m a coastal liberal and my family are rural conservatives.
All that being said, this book makes a great book club read for all the issues it will surely bring to the fore, and women’s fiction readers who enjoy family drama and dysfunction.
This is one of the most amazing books I have read in quite some time (I am reminded, to a degree, of Between the World and Me and The Other Wes Moore). It was poignant and powerful. J.D. has lived a tough life and he shows us that life, warts and all. He was very brave to reveal this much of himself. He is flawed and grew up in a very flawed home, but, nevertheless, he has found a great deal of success. His work, although anecdotal, opens the door on the widespread, but often under-reported problem challenges many working-class whites face and how similar these problems are across race and region. A fascinating and instructive read.
Everyone should read this book – to understand how we are all different but all alike. Poverty is an overriding factor in cultures left behind. It takes grit, hard work and a few lucky breaks to survive. It takes even more effort to break away from the downwrd spiral.
From my perspective having been raised in Mississippi, Vance wrote as though he was the only person raised in poverty that made it out and became successful. I beg to differ. It just ‘hit’ me the wrong way.
Not what I was expecting. It’s not really a memoir. It’s more like a social look at growing up in a Hillbilly family or even a poor family anywhere in the world. It looked at the abuse, violence and unstable family life that I feel is most likely in any poor family.