Hillbilly Elegy

One of them (usually my stepmom but
sometimes Dad) made dinner every
night, which we ate as a family. Before
each meal, we’d say grace (something
I’d always liked but had never done
outside of Kentucky). On weeknights,
we’d watch some family sitcom together.
And Dad and Cheryl never screamed at
each other. Once, I heard them raise their
voices during an argument about money,
but slightly elevated volumes were far
different from screaming.
On my first weekend at Dad’s house
—the first weekend I had ever spent
with him when I knew that, come
Monday, I wouldn’t be going somewhere
else—my younger brother invited a