Hillbilly Elegy

Rollerblading through the emergency
room. At the time I saw Mom’s bizarre
behavior as the consequence of her
divorce from Bob. Similarly, Mamaw’s
occasional references to Mom “getting
loaded” seemed like random comments
of a woman known for her willingness to
say anything, not a diagnosis of a
deteriorating reality. Not long after Mom
lost her job, during my trip to California,
I heard from her just once. I had no idea
that, behind the scenes, the adults—
meaning Mamaw on the one hand and
Uncle Jimmy and his wife, Aunt Donna,
on the other—were debating whether I
should move permanently to California.
Mom flailing and screaming in the