J.D. Vance was born in the poor Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky, and raised in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. Using the G.I. Bill, Vance attended Ohio State University from September 2007 to August 2009, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and philosophy. After that, Vance attended Yale Law School where he graduated in 2013 with a Juris Doctor degree.
Professor Amy Chua taught J.D. Vance during his first year at Yale Law School, and she’s the one who persuaded Vance to write his memoir. Hillbilly Elegy was published in 2016 and it reached the top of The New York Times best seller list. The book was adapted into a Netflix film in 2020. This really propelled Vance into the limelight. He was elected to the United States Senate representing Ohio in 2022. In July 2024, the 39-year-old Republican became Donald Trump’s running-mate in the presidential election.
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis offers a poignant glimpse into the author’s upbringing in a struggling Appalachian family, including his personal experiences growing up in a poor Rust Belt town as his family grappled with poverty, addiction, and instability. Vance recounts his chaotic childhood, his grandfather’s alcoholism, his mother’s history of drugs and her failed relationships, and his love for his grandma. Moreover, J.D. chronicles his escape from that difficult environment through education and military service, with the help of his grandmother – who he called “Mamaw” – and who was his biggest supporter.
Hillbilly Elegy is more than just a memoir. Vance delves into the social, economic, and cultural challenges faced by the working poor, particularly in Appalachia. Through his experiences, the author examines the cycles of poverty, addiction, cultural decay, and lack of social mobility that plague many communities in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. His story parallels the broader social struggles and economic issues experienced by low-income households across America. As such, his memoir is a thought-provoking read that can spark important discussions about the complexities of the American Dream and the hardships faced by the working class.
I disagree with Kamala Harris’ running-mate Tim Walz, who said in a clip posted to the X social media platform, “Sen. Vance, he became a media darling. He wrote a book about the place he grew up. But the premise was — was trashing that place where he grew up rather than lifting it up.” Did Walz even read the book??? J.D. Vance wasn’t trashing his hometown, he was simply telling the way it was! Reading the book, one can appreciate the author’s insights into how small town problems relate to wider social and economic issues, often brought about by the very government that claims to help them.
Vance’s journey from a troubled youth to a successful lawyer underscores themes of resilience, the power of education, and the benefits of discipline. Some of the things that J.D. Vance learned about bettering oneself through hard work remind me of the Ben Carson story. The only chapter I didn’t like in Hillbilly Elegy was the one where he delves into politics during the Obama years. Looking back, I bet he’d probably want to rephrase some of his statements.
Some say that Hillbilly Elegy reinforces unfavorable stereotypes about the Appalachian region and its people. However, Vance has written a first-hand account of his personal experiences growing up in the area, and he candidly describes what the people who lived around him were really like. Besides, Psychology Today admits that stereotypes – whether negative or positive – are based on truths: “Many stereotypes are empirical generalizations with a statistical basis and thus on average tend to be true. If they are not true, they wouldn’t be stereotypes.”
Hillbilly Elegy deals with mature themes such as addiction and family dysfunction. While the book includes references to violence and substance abuse, it doesn’t contain anything explicit or graphic (despite a false meme that was going around on the internet). Still, the book is probably best suited for mature readers aged 16 and up because there is some strong language (mostly from J.D.’s grandma!), which is not quite appropriate for younger readers.
P.S. I don’t have a Netflix subscription so I didn’t see the movie version. If you watched it, leave a comment and let me know how it compares! ~Teri
