An extraordinarily difficult childhood was the crucible for the man who someday might become the leader of the free world. Few have as much cringe worthiness and random nuttiness as does the amazing coming of age story of , the recently nominated Republican candidate for vice president of the United States. I had read Vance’s story, Hillbilly Elegy, soon after it was published in 2016, but thought that it made good sense to revisit the book in light of current events.
It is a homage, warts and all, to his Appalachian forebears and the community he grew up in. Above all, it is the story of how key people can make all the difference in a life. While it is clear to Vance that there are larger forces that can help or impede us, there are also individuals who can play formative, indeed salvational roles in the lives of others.
Vance is clear-eyed and empathetic but also unsparing as to the Hillbilly culture that he was grew up in: a code of honor, a culture of violence and one that looked after its own, but in the process, could crush them. In Vance’s case, his life was literally saved by his roughhewn grandparents who provided him with an essential haven from a constantly shifting, uncertain, and randomly violent home life. His well-meaning mother was a serial addict who had five husbands and other men as well.
As Vance noted, in one two-year period he had four different “fathers.” Vance is candid about the people around him and about his reactions, actions, and attitudes.