Hillbilly Elegy

thinking. Mamaw came from a family
that would shoot at you rather than argue
with you. Her father was a scary old
hillbilly with the mouth and war medals
of a sailor. Her grandfather’s murderous
exploits were impressive enough to
make the pages of The New York Times.
And as scary as her lineage was,
Mamaw Bonnie herself was so terrifying
that, many decades later, a Marine Corps
recruiter would tell me that I’d find boot
camp easier than living at home. “Those
drill instructors are mean,” he said. “But
not like that grandma of yours.” That
meanness wasn’t enough to dissuade my
grandfather. So Mamaw and Papaw
were married as teenagers in Jackson, in