Hillbilly Elegy

before I left was that some tragedy
would befall my family while I was
away, and I’d be unable to help. Luckily,
that wasn’t happening.
In January 2005, I learned that my
unit would head to Iraq a few months
later. I was both excited and nervous.
Mamaw fell silent when I called to tell
her. After a few uncomfortable seconds
of dead air, she said only that she hoped
the war would end before I had to leave.
Though we spoke on the phone every
few days, we never spoke of Iraq, even
as winter turned to spring and everyone
knew I’d be leaving for war that
summer. I could tell that Mamaw didn’t
want to talk or think about it, and I