Hillbilly Elegy

existed. When we met, his mother had
already permanently lost custody. In his
short life, he has already experienced
multiple instances of childhood trauma,
and in a few years he will begin making
decisions about employment and
education that even children of wealth
and privilege have trouble navigating.
Any chance he has lies with the
people around him—his family, me, my
kin, the people like us, and the broad
community of hillbillies. And if that
chance is to materialize, we hillbillies
must wake the hell up. Brian’s mom’s
death was another shitty card in an
already abysmal hand, but there are
many cards left to deal: whether his