Hillbilly Elegy

endured, never complaining, a parade of
father figures, all of whom left me
feeling empty and mistrustful of men. I
had agreed to ride in that car with her on
the day she threatened to kill me, and
then I had stood before a judge and lied
to him to keep her out of jail. I had
moved in with her and Matt, and then her
and Ken, because I wanted her to get
better and thought that if I played along,
there was a chance she would. For
years, Lindsay called me the “forgiving
child”—the one who found the best in
Mom, the one who made excuses, the
one who believed. I opened my mouth to
spew pure vitriol in Mom’s direction,
but Lindsay spoke first: “No, Mom. She