“Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” by Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance is a memoir of his life and how he managed to capture the American dream and serve as an example to many others in his Hilbilly community.
A week before school started, I watched the “Hillbilly Elegy” film. While I enjoyed the movie, the film left many gaps in his life that inspired me to listen to the book.
This book can benefit everyone. It will inform voters of the hurdles working-class Hillbillys face and foster discussions among all Americans. However, recognizing that not everyone has the time to read, I compiled my favorite lessons from the book.
The value of relentless forgiveness.
While reading the book, I had to remember the message stated in the introduction: “nearly every person you will read about is deeply flawed.”
Even after all the violent and depressing things described, the author still loves these people, even those whom I avoid speaking to for my own sanity. Doubling down on this admission, he states that if he left people with “the impression that there are bad people in my life,” then he apologizes for “both you and to the people so portrayed.”
Vance’s mother is a narcotics addict who abused both her children, causing immense stress on the family. They constantly had to clean up her messes whenever she got in trouble, such as when a young Vance had to provide urine to help her mother pass a drug test to continue being a nurse.
Vance never gave up on her and had to sacrifice a lot to help her.
The military is a source of positive transformation.
Another critical aspect of the book is Vance’s Marine service. Despite good grades, Vance realized he lacked the skills and maturity needed to succeed in college. His cousin, a former Marine, suggested that joining the Marines would help him become more discipline and set him on the right path.
After leaving boot camp, Vance noticed poor nutritional habits among the people in his Appalachian community. This lack of nutrition education contributed to a cycle of poor health and deeper poverty.
Additionally, the Marines taught Vance financial literacy skills that needed to be improved. For example, he didn’t realize that one should shop around for different loan offers from various banks, and his Gunnery Sergeant had to intervene to prevent him from making a financial mistake.
For Vance, serving in the Marines was eye-opening. It gave him distance from his previous environment and time to reflect on it more objectively.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this book to everyone, and it should be essential reading for anyone interested in American politics. Vance’s life of relentless forgiving, his transformation in the military, and his exposure to the cultural and class divide were eye-opening. It is not an easy read; it is very depressing. However, I did chuckle a few times, and in the end, I did feel very hopeful.
Ari Sorokin can be reached at [email protected].
