Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

By J.D. Vance

A Powerful and Personal Analysis of a Culture in Crisis

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis: that of white working-class Americans. From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, this powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town offers a broader probing look into a segment of society often misunderstood and ignored.

J.D. Vance's memoir is a searingly honest account of his own family's struggles and the larger forces that have shaped the lives of so many of his fellow Appalachians. He writes about growing up with an alcoholic and absent father and a mother who was addicted to painkillers. He describes the poverty, violence, and social isolation that are all too common in his hometown.

But Vance also writes about the resilience and determination of the people he grew up with. He tells the stories of his family, friends, and neighbors, and he shows how they have managed to survive and even thrive in the face of adversity. Hillbilly Elegy is a heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful book about the power of family, the importance of education, and the enduring spirit of the American people.

Keywords: working class, United States, whites, memoir, family, culture, crisis