Hillbilly Elegy

wanted me to stay with her permanently,
with no more moving in between. Mom
seemed not to care: She needed a
“break,” she said, I supposed from being
a mother. She and Ken didn’t last much
longer. By the end of sophomore year,
she had moved out of his house and I had
moved in with Mamaw, never to return
to the homes of Mom and her men. At
least she passed her piss test.
I didn’t even have to pack, because
much of what I owned remained at
Mamaw’s as I bounced from place to
place. She didn’t approve of me taking
too many of my belongings to Ken’s
house, convinced that he and his kids
might steal my socks and shirts. (Neither