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A review by askannakarenina
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.0
I listened to J.D. Vance's narration of this book on Audible...I'm very conflicted about this book. On the one hand, Vance's narration of his own life experience is highly compelling, and he's tackling important and under-discussed issues from the position of a person who has lived through them. On the other hand, this book has faced a lot of criticism for placing the issues of Appalachia too much on the cultural habits of the people who live there, or for not placing enough blame on them. Vance is so proud of his own heritage, but so critical of that same culture, and I was in places quite angry with his tone or with the prescriptions he made. This book has been important in American political culture over the past few years, so I'm glad I read it, but I don't think it's something I will be revisiting.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence