Hillbilly Elegy

crying, never seen him cry, and assumed
he was so tough that he hadn’t even cried
as a baby. He held that pose for a little
while, until we both heard Mamaw
approaching the living room. At that
point he collected himself, wiped his
eyes, and left. Neither of us ever spoke
of that moment.
Mom was released from jail on bond
and prosecuted for a domestic violence
misdemeanor. The case depended
entirely on me. Yet during the hearing,
when asked if Mom had ever threatened
me, I said no. The reason was simple:
My grandparents were paying a lot of
money for the town’s highest-powered
lawyer. They were furious with my