JD Vance tells the story of his life growing up as a 'hillbilly'. He was very poor, lived with his grandparents most of the time because his mother had problems with drugs and men. His father was out of his life. Through determination on his part and the love of his grandparents he graduated from Yale Law. he shares many things he learned along the way and credits his time in the Marines with achieving maturity.

This is not a comment about content as I found it an interesting commentary on the subject. As a self-proclaimed aficionado of recorded books, I say Vance was a terrible, terrible narrator. Very seldom can an author do justice to their work by doing the narration and this was NO exception. He should have had this decent story presented by a professional.

The last few chapters were the most important read for me as they reflected so much of my life.

According to stereotype, Hillbillies, people of the Appalachian, are uneducated, unemployed, and unmotivated. Abandoned when factories left the Steel Belt, they suffer from a high rate of drug usage and domestic violence and, despite the decades that have passed, things don’t seem to be getting better.⁣
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In his memoir, Vance describes his experience as a third-generation Hillbilly. His grandparents had profited from the economic prosperity of the Steel Belt, but now they were also collaterally damaged by its collapse. Vance’s grandfather was an alcoholic, his mother a drug abuser, and in his most helpless moments, a young Vance had to lie in court to avoid being put into foster care. ⁣
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On one hand, Vance’s story sounds like the epitome of the American Dream. He eventually attended Yale Law School, leaping over socioeconomic barriers and lifestyle changes. On the other hand, his identity still haunted him: he had anger issues and trouble maintaining long-term relationships. Yet he acknowledged that he was already fortunate for having caring grandparents. What about those who did not have role models? He asked. How would the majority of Hillbilly posterity have a future? ⁣
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As a 1.5 generation immigrant to Canada and once an international students in the States, I identified with our author to a surprising degree. I still find myself at a loss during certain Western social situations and testing the waters academically and professionally. In a way, Vance is as much of an immigrant as I am; the cultural shocks and insecurities he had suffered were not any less jarring. ⁣
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I had already read about the Hillbillies in works such as Dopesick and Good Economics in Hard Times, but Vance really humanized the families and communities that would otherwise have just been statistics. We can say the suicide rate is X and the drug usage rate is Y, but behind these numbers are families fleeing from their pasts and children struggling for a future.

On Netflix right now.....heartbreaking to watch, but worth it!

Understanding others, at least trying to, is important I think. This book was a reminder that not everyone in the US is born with all the breaks but much is still possible in this country. Change is the one constant we all face no matter what.
And how important a Grandmother’s love is.

I like very much like what you have done to provide a accurate summary description of a book and provided comments from other readers. I am a loyal non-fiction reader and want to know about the author as well as the theme of the book.

This is a first person account of young man without a father and a drug addicted mother growing poor and still making a successful escape from that to become a Yale educated lawyer and now a founder of a company. All throughout the book he laments people make their lives miserable on their own - it is not the fault of the government! Here is a quotation -

“There is a cultural movement in the white working class to blame problems on society or the government, and that movement gains adherents by the day.
Here is where the rhetoric of modern conservatives (and I say this as one of them) fails to meet the real challenges of their biggest constituents. Instead of encouraging engagement, conservatives increasingly foment the kind of detachment that has sapped the ambition of so many of my peers. I have watched some friends blossom into successful adults and others fall victim in the worst of Middletown’s temptations – premature parenthood, drugs, incarceration. What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives. Yet the message of the right is increasingly: It is not your fault that you are a loser; it’s the government’s fault.”

I lived in Middletown for a few years & thought it was much* worse of a “hillybilly” experience than the book only seems to scratch the surface of. I worked at the golf club Vance worked at and served Ron Selby his beers at the turn (9th hole). The writing style is meh and yes, it is a memoir of someone with something to prove. I’m not sure if it went over quite as planned.

Learn what it REALLY means to be a proud Hillbilly!

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020

HILLBILLY ELEGY is JD Vance's attempt to make sense of his childhood and his people, who are the embodiment of what the rest of the United States disparagingly refers to as Hillbillies, Rednecks, White Trash, Trailer Trash, etc.

JD's life story is fascinating and filled with considerable empathy and gratitude. His journey, and the struggle to overcome his childhood, is something readers will enjoy immensely. This book offers you a rare opportunity to feel like you understand what it is like walk in someone elses shoes and know them. You will sympathize for JD's struggles and celebrate his accomplishments. You will come to really like him, and certainly, admire him.

JD does an excellent job of drawing the reader in and allowing us a deeper understanding of a culture that is deeply and historically rooted in the United States. Because Hillbillies don't trust outsiders (often with good reason), they tend, as a people, to be misunderstood, looked down on and often maligned by people from other regions of the country. Sadly, in some ways they have fallen to meet those expectations.

But despite the struggles and disenfranchisement of his people, HILLBILLY ELEGY is a beautiful tribute to Vance's love for the grandmother who raised him, and the many members of his extended family, who had a hand in elevating him up, and out, of a cycle of desperate poverty and hopelessness. Very few people who grew up like him escaped their circumstances.

JD's kin (Hillbillies) are part of a cultural group made up of white, blue collar, largely uneducated, fiercely loyal, geographically connected, extended families. They inhabit the area of the country that extends south from the Ohio Rust belt to the hollers of Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Collectively, this group has less hope, less opportunity and fewer prospects than any other culturally or racially defined group in America.

JD, who graduated from YALE Law School, wants the hardships suffered by his kin folk to be understand by outsiders and policy makers. He readily admits there are no easy solutions to the rampant social problems , that are holding them back in the "land of opportunity". Even though some of the stereo types ring true, you will gain a solid understanding of the challenges faced by these remarkable people, and an admiration for their dedication to family, and their strength, in the face of adversity.

Learn what it REALLY means to be a proud Hillbilly!