'Hillbilly Elegy' by J.D. Vance

Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance (4.0)

I recently read that this book is now required reading for several high school classes. Hopefully it is in the sociology class as Mr. Vance, in this memoir, has summarized a little understood problem in today’s rust belt: why has the working white poor of ‘hillbilly’ culture had such a hard time succeeding in the middle class? He explains how his grandparents moved from the hills of Kentucky to an industrial town in Ohio. While they lived in a relatively nice neighborhood and had food on their table, their hillbilly culture remained with all discussions ending in shouting matches and perceived family slights being addressed with fists. While Mr. Vance’s mother was the salutatorian of her class, she became an addict and had many partners in her life. He describes their household instability in terms of her absence (physically and mentally) and the trail of men who wander in and out of their lives. Luckily his beloved grandparents brought stability and consistency into his life, they seemed to be anxious to improve on their parenting skills. Originally I had thought this would be a nature vs. nurture discussion, but he touches more on the depth of the culture and it’s impact on children. Specifically, he believes that the emotional and physical disruptions in the homes make it unable for these children to succeed. I think this is an important book to read to get insight into a growing problem in our country. Unfortunately I don’t seem much effort on either side of the political spectrum working to solve the root cause of the issue – how to ensure kids get the stability and support they need early on. This is exacerbated by the fact that the families don’t believe they need any support on that front.