Hillbilly Elegy

Mamaw had said, Dad had hired
multiple lawyers and done everything
within reason to keep me.
He worried that the custody war was
destroying me. When I saw him during
visitations before the adoption, I would
hide under the bed for the first few
hours, fearful that he would kidnap me
and never let me see Mamaw again.
Seeing his son in such a frightened state
led him to reconsider his approach.
Mamaw hated him, a fact I knew
firsthand; but Dad said her hatred
stemmed from the early days of his
marriage to Mom, when he was far from
a perfect husband. Sometimes when he
came to pick me up, Mamaw would