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Reviews tagging 'Addiction'
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
35 reviews
crybabybea's review against another edition
medium-paced
0.25
Fuck this guy. I don't understand why this book is touted as a "compassionate" view of rural white America. I found it poorly researched, hypocritical, and borderline offensive. He frequently gives an opinion by starting with "studies show..." then doesn't cite the study or show any evidence.
I initially wanted to give this book at least one star because I thought the memoir part of it was enjoyable enough, but by the end of the book, with the weirdly disparaging/bootstraps messaging, the stories told about his family and fellow Appalachian people left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt the memoir lacked a sense of self-reflection and cohesion; in fact I found the author to walk back his opinions in weird ways, and it almost came across as having some sort of internalized hatred for himself/the people he grew up around. Then, the second half is spent talking about his time in the military with not much substance or connection to the main thesis of the memoir.
As much as he wants to write this book from the perspective of a poor, hard-working country boy, he is in fact a Yale graduate and a member of the elite class. I seriously hate this book so much I feel like it would be a lie to give it anything other than .25. I still love Mamaw though.
My biggest issue with this book is the touting of bootstraps meritocracy and the author's criticism of the poor working class. He says multiple times that he doesn't believe in systemic issues, but instead thinks that poor people are lazy and pessimistic. And yes, he even makes the "you're poor cause you spend your money on TVs and iPads LOL!!!!" joke. But somehow I'm supposed to believe that he wrote this book as a eulogy out of compassion and love for his culture, people, and family. Mmkay.
I don't feel like putting my thoughts into a cohesive review format so here's a list of weird things the author said that pissed me off:
I initially wanted to give this book at least one star because I thought the memoir part of it was enjoyable enough, but by the end of the book, with the weirdly disparaging/bootstraps messaging, the stories told about his family and fellow Appalachian people left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt the memoir lacked a sense of self-reflection and cohesion; in fact I found the author to walk back his opinions in weird ways, and it almost came across as having some sort of internalized hatred for himself/the people he grew up around. Then, the second half is spent talking about his time in the military with not much substance or connection to the main thesis of the memoir.
As much as he wants to write this book from the perspective of a poor, hard-working country boy, he is in fact a Yale graduate and a member of the elite class. I seriously hate this book so much I feel like it would be a lie to give it anything other than .25. I still love Mamaw though.
My biggest issue with this book is the touting of bootstraps meritocracy and the author's criticism of the poor working class. He says multiple times that he doesn't believe in systemic issues, but instead thinks that poor people are lazy and pessimistic. And yes, he even makes the "you're poor cause you spend your money on TVs and iPads LOL!!!!" joke. But somehow I'm supposed to believe that he wrote this book as a eulogy out of compassion and love for his culture, people, and family. Mmkay.
I don't feel like putting my thoughts into a cohesive review format so here's a list of weird things the author said that pissed me off:
- Opens up the book with a short-sighted disclaimer that "even though Black people struggle in America, actually white people suffer too and people need to stop viewing things through a racial lens". He also completely denies the history of the term "welfare queen" being used as an insult against poor Black mothers and instead says "every welfare queen I've known has been white" as if that changes the way it has been used to systemically punish and insult Black women? He continues to purposefully ignore race as a factor and fails to acknowledge his privilege, instead claiming that poor people of any race should be able to pull themselves out through hard work and better choices
- Says that addiction is in fact a disease, but then says that it's harmful to believe addiction is a disease because then addicts feel like they have an excuse to never change and never get help
- The second half of the book (coincidentally when the author goes off to the military) devolves into blind patriotism and the author constantly repeats that Americans live in the greatest country in the world and have more opportunities than any other country. But he spends the first half of the book talking about systemic issues (without acknowledging that the issues are systemic) that make America the bad place? And says that the government and corporations are not to blame, but instead people's individual choices? Like the math is not mathing. It's like he got so close to the point so many times and then the cognitive dissonance blinders settled in and he was like "huh, must be I'm just better and more hard-working than everyone else". And yes, I do think it's cringe to cry at "God Bless America", sorry
- Says multiple times that he doesn't think therapy is worthwhile despite acknowledging that he has a high ACES score. I don't think therapy is a perfect end-all-be-all solution, but, with peace and love, this book really shows his lack of self-reflection and healing
- Conservatives never hated Obama because of his race, but because he is a member of the elite class because he is rich. Listen. You can do a super simple google search for "obama racism" and see the incredibly racist imagery and slogans that were popularly used against him at the time.
- Randomly inserts an anecdote about some guy he met in college who spoke out against the Iraq war for being unnecessarily violent and racist. He says this guy has an "objectively bad opinion" because actually the soldiers had to take culture trainings to learn how to not show their feet to the Iraqi people that worked on the American side. No no, no war crimes or dehumanization or racism to be seen here.
No, don't google Abu Ghraib
- In the beginning of the book, talks about how poor people are stupid because they rely on payday loans that ruin their credit and keep them in debt. Then later he talks about how payday loans are good, actually, and not predatory at all, and stinky politicians should stop trying to help poor working class people by taking away the few resources they have. Okay
- Talks about how politicians think they are helping poor people but are so far removed from being poor that they end up making decisions that hurt the people they are trying to help. Btw, this guy is a senator and regularly votes against bills that would significantly help the working class and by 2020 he was fully in support of Donald Trump
- Poor people waste money on expensive Christmas gifts instead of trying to grow their wealth because they want to pretend to be rich and ignore the reality of their lives
No seriously fuck this guy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
museum_owl's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Classism
sgjohnson2001's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism
dstone6298's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
tesorae's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: War
daughterofthekingofkings's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, and Death of parent
lindsayvale's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and War
Minor: Pregnancy
nickitaylor915's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
I would give Hillbilly Elegy 2 stars. While JD Vance's memoir offers an interesting perspective on the struggles of working-class Americans, the book is poorly written and lacks depth. Vance's writing is often clumsy and repetitive, and his analysis of the issues facing Appalachia is superficial and simplistic. The book also suffers from a lack of focus, as Vance jumps from personal anecdotes to broader social commentary without a clear thread connecting them. Overall, Hillbilly Elegy is a disappointing read that fails to live up to its potential.
Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir by JD Vance that explores his experiences growing up in a working-class family in Appalachia. Vance discusses the challenges he faced as a child, including poverty, addiction, and family dysfunction. He also provides a broader analysis of the social and economic issues facing the region, arguing that a lack of opportunity and a culture of hopelessness contribute to the cycle of poverty and despair. While the book has received significant attention for its insights into the struggles of working-class Americans, it has also been criticized for its simplistic analysis and poor writing.
Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir by JD Vance that explores his experiences growing up in a working-class family in Appalachia. Vance discusses the challenges he faced as a child, including poverty, addiction, and family dysfunction. He also provides a broader analysis of the social and economic issues facing the region, arguing that a lack of opportunity and a culture of hopelessness contribute to the cycle of poverty and despair. While the book has received significant attention for its insights into the struggles of working-class Americans, it has also been criticized for its simplistic analysis and poor writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
basil_plant's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, and Death of parent
pezfilledcookies's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Death
Minor: Drug abuse and Toxic relationship