Hillbilly Elegy is a captivating analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans- a demographic of our country that has been in decline for over forty years.  J. D. Vance shares his personal experience in order to give better understanding of the struggles of “hillbilly” Americans and how he overcame cultural adversity and achieved success.

The author, 32, is the product of Appalachia, the Marines, Ohio State, and Yale Law. The son of a drug addict mother who married five times and a father who left the home when he was a baby, Vance was raised by his mother, his maternal grandparents, and a parade of stepfathers in the poverty-laden Rust Belt.

A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels while at the same time serving as a social commentary and a possible explanation for the current political climate. 

Reviewed by Kim White