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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Heart rending memoir .
As an autobiography, this is an interesting book. But. I don’t believe that it is a definitive work about the people of Appalachia.
Where we are today in middle America
It took me back to my childhood and some of the attitudes in the neighborhood.
Hillbilly boy makes good by overcoming all of the negative environment and people (i.e. many diverse relativities and sort of relatives) he had to grow up with. Under current that those from Appalachia are probably their own worst enemy, followed closely by their families; you can take the hillbilly out of Appalachia, but not vice versa. The fact that he changed his last name to that of his maternal grandfather on his wedding day should give you a clue just how lost he really was.
We can’t imagine what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes unless the tell us their story. I’m so glad I grew up where I did and in the family I did.
Second half was interesting
One of the interesting books I’ve read!
I wish they would find ways to get educated and get out of the financial rut.
Autobiography of one man’s life from poverty to becoming an Ivy League graduate. Encouraged by his uneducated grandomother. Informative of the culture of the time in Kentucky, and how the culture followed when family moved to Chicago to better their lives financially while bringing their abusive hillbilly culture with them. An eye opener and very interesting book, as well as inspiring.
ONE TO RECOMMEND
Interesting
A view into a portion of America that many don’t know. A must read to better understand what is going on in the country right now.
J D Vance is a born writer – couldn’t put the book down after I started reading it – I’ve lived in WV for the past 17 years and wish this book had been available before I moved here! – now I understand more clearly my neighbors and everyone else who call themselves ‘hillbilly locals’ in our small town. Best people – no pretenses.
This book at first, for me was a slow read, but soon I became interested in how the individual characters and the group as a family unit solved and survived their decisions. So thankful that the main character, was wise enough to take the advice of his teacher and delayed college for the opportunity to gain the maturity, needed to break the cycle of family drama. Good read!
The age old question: Is it genes or environment that make us who and what we are? The author tells the story of his life and recounts his experiences growing up with all of the people in his circle, family, friends, extended family, etc. He does not embellish nor omit painful parts. It is simply told as it was and is. He has every “excuse” to be a total failure, but his mind doesn’t work that way.
One thing that I especially found enlightening was how, without realizing it, he (and all of us) had made terrible habits when faced with conflict or disagreement. His wife loved him and helped him learn how to deal with conflict in a healthy way that solves the problem. Great how they worked through things and glad that he included that in the book.
This is a good book and well written, easy to follow and to understand.
Both of my parents came from WV. This book rings true. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it & identified with the characters.
This is a memoir, not a factual, researched book. The author is telling his story as he remembers it. For those who have not given much thought to the working man-or woman–who puts in hours for meager pay and finds they cannot “get ahead” this is an eye opener. The struggle of the factory worker, the farm hand, those who are not afraid of hard work, but cannot find meaningful jobs, their frustration is understandable.
A story I could identify with on many levels. An honest story about the obstacles the white working class has been dealing with for decades. These are the people the political class doesn’t even see.
Well written and inciteful