Hillbilly Elegy

hair. The sad fact is that I couldn’t do it
without Usha. Even at my best, I’m a
delayed explosion—I can be defused,
but only with skill and precision. It’s not
just that I’ve learned to control myself
but that Usha has learned how to manage
me. Put two of me in the same home and
you have a positively radioactive
situation. It’s no surprise that every
single person in my family who has built
a successful home—Aunt Wee, Lindsay,
my cousin Gail—married someone from
outside our little culture.
This realization shattered the
narrative I told about my life. In my own
head, I was better than my past. I was
strong. I left town as soon as I could,