JD Vance cleverly zoomed in and out between his own life and experiences and the socio-economic workings at macrolevel. It does provide some insight into the values and self-identification of people and communities I find difficult to understand, read Trump voters, and how hard life is for children and adults growing up and living there. This story is one that makes it very clear how important a reliable, stable, and loving adult is in the life of any person actually and how a sense of agency in your own fate is crucial to overcoming the hardships of your environment.

Being a native of Eastern Kentucky, I was reluctant to read this book. It was a decent memoir about overcoming childhood hardship and trauma. I feel that the author over-generalizes what it means to be a "hillbilly." I grew up in the "holler" but I was not surrounded by the kind of behavior described in this book. Like the author, my maternal grandparents really were the primary adults in my life, but they were drama-free. My grandmother would have never told me to fight for honor, nor would she have ever used the coarse language that seemed the natural mode of communication in the author's home. I know that there ARE people who live this way, though. Having lived in a number of places, I can confidently say that there are people like that everywhere. I live nowhere near Appalachia now, but I'm surrounded by more poor, white, "redneck" people than ever. In the American West, these are "Cowboys" instead of hillbillies. I do not understand why one is a good thing and one is a bad thing since the behaviors are the same.

An intimate personal history capturing the increasing social dishevel and deterioration of vast swaths of America. I did not expect to be so compelled by this book, by the stark portrait of poverty and decay happening right now in the richest country in the world, and also by the author's own struggle and success in breaking out of dysfunction, breaking out of the patterns and habits of his upbringing.

I listened to this book on audio.I loved it .JD Vance reading me his life story.

I'm kind of hit and miss with memoir-type books. Some I devour, others I struggle to get through for a myriad of reasons. I wasn't sure if I'd like this one or not, but it was worth giving it a try, at least.

I'm happy to say that "Hillbilly Elegy" fell firmly into the former category. Once I started reading, I could not stop (which isn't easy when you have a one-month-old to take care of. But I managed).

The biggest draw of Vance's story for me is the fact that I know people like this. Some I'm even related to. The phrase "There, but for the grace of God, go I" kept running in my head as I read about Vance's family. But his story was full of love and caring for his family - I cried when Mamaw passed because his connection with her reminded me so much of me with my own grandmother.

I am quite familiar with families torn apart by drugs and alcoholism, while also maintaining a sense of loyalty and pride in their rural background. It's an interesting balance of acknowledging the challenges of the culture you come from, but also embracing the positives. And it's hard to explain to "city folk" why you love these people in spite of their foibles and, frankly, being the punchline of every joke and sneer from the news and entertainment media.

Hillbillies, rednecks, whatever you call them - have a common theme. The elites don't get us and they don't want to. It's easier to write us all off as idiots not smart enough to get out of those situations. But Vance successfully characterizes these folks as part of their own culture who just want a chance to be heard and noticed and respected, just as much as any other. There is no (pardon my use of the term) "privilege" here. None that you don't make for yourself, anyway. And even then, circumstances seem to conspire against you, even with all your hard work and perseverance.

Doesn't mean you stop trying or that you give up your personal responsibility. And that's the message here - sure, life's tough. But blaming someone else for your problems won't make them go away. Being a victim is no way to live. It'll be hard, especially if people around you are making the same excuses. But it's worth it in the end.

I could blather on and on about "Hillbilly Elegy," but I'll sum up by saying this: This book made me think on my own life and consider where I want to go and what I want to do. Not by lecturing or preaching, but by telling a true story of one family. It wasn't an easy read, even though I tore through it in a couple of days. But it was worth it. Highly recommended!

I think I would have enjoyed this better if I had read it instead of listening to the audio-book. The author reads it, which I normally like, but I found his reading voice and style rather boring. I did really appreciate his perspective. I feel like I've gained a much better understanding of the mindset of middle-America/Appalachia. His approach is really refreshing because no one is being demonized, which feels so rare these days. He pinpoints problems that are national in scale in a clearer and more concise way than we typically see, but he doesn't offer any answers or possible approaches. But the book generally stays much closer to the family level than to the culture level. But his family story is a compelling one. It was an interesting listen, if not altogether enjoyable.

Part memoir/part analysis of hillbilly culture. The memoir part I enjoyed but was expecting more from the cultural explanations.