Hillbilly Elegy

the things that happened, and she
probably even believed that—as
promised—they’d “never happen again.”
They always did, though.
This time was no different. Mom
was extra-apologetic because her sin
was extra-bad. So her penance was
extra-good: She promised to take me to
the mall and buy me football cards.
Football cards were my kryptonite, so I
agreed to join her. It was probably the
biggest mistake of my life.
We got on the highway, and I said
something that ignited her temper. So she
sped up to what seemed like a hundred
miles per hour and told me that she was
going to crash the car and kill us both. I