Hillbilly Elegy

exposed me to the underworld of
American addiction. Wednesdays were
always dedicated to a group activity—
some type of training for the family. All
of the addicts and their families sat in a
large room with each family assigned to
an individual table, engaged in some
discussion meant to teach us about
addiction and its triggers. In one session,
Mom explained that she used drugs to
escape the stress of paying bills and to
dull the pain of Papaw’s death. In
another, Lindsay and I learned that
standard sibling conflict made it more
difficult for Mom to resist temptation.
These sessions provoked little more
than arguments and raw emotion, which I