Hillbilly Elegy

punch but did so at Mamaw’s
encouragement), the times I’d run from
home to my grandparents’ house because
of Mom’s “discipline.” Clearly this
woman had developed an impression of
me based solely on what Mom had told
her. If I didn’t have an anger problem
before, I did now.
“Do you have any idea what you’re
talking about?” I asked. At fourteen, I
knew at least a little about professional
ethics. “Aren’t you supposed to ask me
what I think about things and not just
criticize me?” I launched into an hour-
long summary of my life to that point. I
didn’t tell the whole story, since I knew I
had to choose my words carefully: