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    Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
    Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
    Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
    Audiobook6 hours

    Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

    Written by J. D. Vance

    Narrated by J. D. Vance

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Hillbilly Elegy recounts J.D. Vance's powerful origin story...

    From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate now serving as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and the Republican Vice Presidential candidate for the 2024 election, an incisive account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class.

    THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    ""You will not read a more important book about America this year.""—The Economist

    ""A riveting book.""—The Wall Street Journal

    ""Essential reading.""—David Brooks, New York Times

    Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for more than forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

    The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.'s grandparents were ""dirt poor and in love,"" and moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually one of their grandchildren would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that J.D.'s grandparents, aunt, uncle, and, most of all, his mother struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, never fully escaping the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. With piercing honesty, Vance shows how he himself still carries around the demons of his chaotic family history.

    A deeply moving memoir, with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.

    Editor's Note

    Illuminating examination…

    Even as the Vance family manages to achieve some semblance of ‘The American Dream,’ J.D. Vance shows how deeply the scars of poverty—and the familial and societal ills that it engendered—have compromised the health and happiness of each generation. A must-read for those interested in the ramifications of American social, economic, and political policy.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 28, 2016
    ISBN9780062477521
    Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
    Author

    J. D. Vance

    J. D. Vance grew up in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio, and the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. A graduate of Ohio State University and Yale Law School, he was elected to the United States Senate representing Ohio in 2022. In 2024, he became the Republican nominee for Vice President. Vance lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his family.

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    Reviews for Hillbilly Elegy

    4/5

    4,902 ratings398 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a very eye-opening and insightful depiction of Appalachian culture and the struggles faced by low-income families. The book is well-written and captures the attention of readers, leaving them feeling connected to the author and shedding a tear or two. While some reviewers found the narrative to be a bit drab or disliked the vulgarity, overall, the book is considered impactful and enjoyable. It offers a different perspective on the crisis facing rural areas and instills hope that one can overcome life's struggles. A must-read for those interested in understanding American culture.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      JD is a great story teller. He is real and honest and relatable. He's what others wish they could be. AndkI know how much work he has put in to changing the fight response. It's a hard thing to do. Definitely recommend this if you're interested in hearing more of JD's story, or if you're interested in hearing what it is like to grow up in Appalachia in a working class family.
    • 5/5
      A voice from a large but mostly silent community and an extremely important perspective. Anyone who grew up below the poverty line, especially as a part of the white working class, and has been lucky enough to be upwardly mobile will recognize aspects of herself, her family, or her childhood friends not only in J.D.’s story, but in his persistent fears, discomforts, and anxieties.
    • 4/5
      Well written and a different perspective on the typical "rags to riches story." A real sense of self-awareness and humility. I've certainly never read a novel about the rust belt - this offered me a different perspective on how working-class white Americans see the world and why. Recommend.
    • 4/5
      From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class...
    • 5/5
      Really enjoyable. Very real. True story.
      Like my life experience
    • 5/5
      This is an eye opener! JD Vance gives us a view to an almost forgotten people in this within our country!
    • 5/5
      True story! Unbelievable that he suffered and went through such hardships and came out a successful, hardworking young man! Every high school student should read this book!
    • 4/5
      Sad tale that is more descriptive than prescriptive. Ending had some interesting thoughts. Not sure what to do about this sort of thing. Poignant recollection.
    • 5/5
      I have 3 words to say: Excellelnt, Excellent, and Excellent!!!!!
    • 5/5
      VERY eye opening!
      I loved that the author read this book and it was his own story.
    • 5/5
      Intriguing story , loved the energy of the narrator
    • 5/5
      This book made me see the world through a new pair of glasses. Not only that, but it is beautifully written.
    • 4/5
      Very eye opening of the Apallation life and the importance of family love and support. Didn't care for the vulgarity but understand it's place in the book
    • 4/5
      A snapshot of hillbilly life, JD Vance talks engagingly about his lived experience. My heart broke a little when he had to take a drug test for his mom so she could keep her job, and broke again when he cried in rage and anxious worry if his brief stint with marijuana would cost them her job.
    • 4/5
      Interesting to see the perspective of a young white male living in poverty
    • 5/5
      I saw the interview for this book on Booktv and knew I wanted to read it. It did not disappoint! So grateful to scribd.com for making it available so soon after publication.
    • 3/5
      The first part of the book strikes close to home. I am also Scottish. I too was raised by my poor grandmother. Later in the book where JD talks about joining the military and having the love and support he needed to first finish college and later attend Yale was inspirational. Ican relate to being poor all my life. I too climbed the success ladder. Not to the lofty heights of a lawyer, but to a more typical mediocrity. JD is really smart and he had all the right people around him. He has a winning formula that worked for him. It gives me hope, even at 50 years old that immersing myself in self study and desperately trying to build bonds could bring me a similar joy and peace.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book...it was thoughtful, supported with some research, and resonated with me and I'm sure many readers.
    • 5/5
      So much to think about! Thank you, JD!
    • 5/5
      So good. Well written with real life story, reflections on that experience, and statistics and studies addressing the problems the author and his family faced. I love memoirs, but this one really really hit the sweet spot. Love it!!
    • 4/5
      This was my first modern audiobook in years, and at first I found it dry and less engaging than I might have in print. I went into this expecting something as captivating and emotionally-charged as “The Glass Castle” and, initially, I was sorely disappointed. It reads like a chronological retelling of the author’s life, not at all like an entertaining story. I typically like my memoirs to read like novels. However, Vance had me with the second half, which examined the deeper implications of class and poverty as he transitioned from adolescence to the Marines to Yale Law. He presents the collective ideologies of the Appalachian region in a way that invokes sympathy but also understanding. I do wish he’d offered more solutions to the poverty epidemic that plagues much of small town America. Maybe that will follow in Vance’s next work. Definitely worth the read!
    • 5/5
      This is somehow both
      a touching and we'll researched personal story
    • 5/5
      Absolutely AMAZING!! I love the honesty and the insite of this novel. Everyone can learn something from this story. Even though I am from Michigan I could relate to so much of this.
    • 5/5
      Inspirational and heart-rending eye opening cultural reading experience don't miss it.
    • 5/5
      This book brings back memories of my youth, could have been anywhere in the world. USA born raised , paused for reflexion, make you long for the GOOD OLD DAYS, but not. We are where we are and should never give up. Young or old WE are what we make it ! Enjoyed the book. Thanks
    • 5/5
      This is so timely and poignant. As an educator in a rural school we are this everyday. I doing know how many people are aware that this is the way people live today. It s a great story of triumph over adversity.
    • 4/5
      It's not the best book I've read but it is impactful. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a different take on the crisis facing low income families in rural areas. Or anyone that has roots in Appalachia.
    • 5/5
      The most insightful book I've ever read that explores how and why people destroy their own lives and those of their loved ones.
    • 5/5
      I approached this book with some degree of skepticism given the extreme polarization in our political and cultural climate, but I must say that it was a thorough, incisive, thought-provoking, gut-wrenching, heart-tuning breath of fresh air. It needs to be read and discussed widely!
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed the way he described his life with the characters around it to society. It was a good lesson.