Hillbilly Elegy

understood, Mom equated money with
affection. Perhaps she felt that I would
never appreciate that she loved me
unless she offered a wad of spending
money. But I never cared about the
money. I just wanted her to be healthy.
Not even my closest friends knew
that I lived in my grandma’s house. I
recognized that though many of my peers
lacked the traditional American family,
mine was more nontraditional than most.
And we were poor, a status Mamaw
wore like a badge of honor but one I’d
hardly come to grips with. I didn’t wear
clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch or
American Eagle unless I’d received
them for Christmas. When Mamaw