Hillbilly Elegy

The answer, I’d learn, was the same
hillbilly highway that brought Mamaw
and Papaw from eastern Kentucky to
southwest Ohio. Despite the
topographical differences and the
different regional economies of the
South and the industrial Midwest, my
travels had been confined largely to
places where the people looked and
acted like my family. We ate the same
foods, watched the same sports, and
practiced the same religion. That’s why I
felt so much kinship with those people at
the courthouse: They were hillbilly
transplants in one way or another, just
like me.