Hillbilly Elegy

daughter. Lindsay never let me out of her
sight. It had been the scariest day of my
life. But the hard part was over.
When we got home, none of us could
talk. Mamaw wore a silent, terrifying
anger. I hoped that she would calm down
before Mom got out of jail. I was
exhausted and wanted only to lie on the
couch and watch TV. Lindsay went
upstairs and took a nap. Papaw collected
a food order for Wendy’s. On his way to
the front door, he stopped and stood over
me on the couch. Mamaw had left the
room temporarily. Papaw placed his
hand on my forehead and began to sob. I
was so afraid that I didn’t even look up
at his face. I had never heard of him