Hillbilly Elegy

intense argument, or when I saw her
mired in despair after a breakup, I felt
guilty that she was going through this for
my sake. After all, I thought, Papaw was
plenty good as a father figure. I
promised her after each breakup that we
would be okay or that we’d get over this
together or (echoing Mamaw) that we
didn’t need any damned men. I know
Mom’s motives were not entirely
selfless: She (like all of us) was
motivated by the desire for love and
companionship. But she was looking out
for us, too.
The road to hell, however, is paved
with good intentions. Caught between
various dad candidates, Lindsay and I