Hillbilly Elegy

the time to leave Jackson: my
intimidating, grizzled war-veteran great-
grandfather; the Blanton Brothers, who
had already earned a reputation for
defending Mamaw’s honor; and an
interconnected group of gun-toting
hillbillies who immediately knew all
about Bonnie Blanton’s pregnancy. Most
important, Bonnie and Jim Vance would
soon have another mouth to feed before
they’d gotten used to feeding themselves.
Mamaw and Papaw left abruptly for
Dayton, Ohio, where they lived briefly
before settling permanently in
Middletown.
In later years, Mamaw sometimes
spoke of a daughter who died in infancy,