Hillbilly Elegy

complex and conflicting feelings I’d
developed. That meant a great deal to
me. When Lindsay and her family came
to get me, I got in the car, sighed, and
said to her, “Thanks for taking me
home.” I gave my infant nephew a kiss
on the forehead and said nothing else
until we got to Mamaw’s.
I spent the rest of the summer mostly
with Mamaw. A few weeks with Dad
had given me no epiphanies: I still felt
caught between a desire to stay with her
and a fear that my presence was
depriving her of the comforts of old age.
So before my freshman year started, I
told Mom that I’d live with her so long
as I could stay in Middletown’s schools