Hillbilly Elegy

doesn’t get it.” I initially disagreed with
her: “Of course she gets it; it’s just the
way she is, something she can’t change.”
After the incident with the therapist, I
knew that Lindsay was right.
Mamaw was unhappy when I told
her that I planned to live with Dad, and
so was everyone else. No one really
understood it, and I felt unable to say
much about it. I knew that if I told the
truth, I’d have a few people offering
their spare bedrooms, and all of them
would submit to Mamaw’s demand that I
live permanently with her. I also knew
that living with Mamaw came with a lot
of guilt, and a lot of questions about why
I didn’t live with my mom or dad, and a