Hillbilly Elegy

Don Bowman had much more in
common with Mom’s side of the family
than I expected. His father (and my
grandfather), Don C. Bowman, also
migrated from eastern Kentucky to
southwest Ohio for work. After marrying
and starting a family, my grandfather
Bowman died suddenly, leaving behind
two small children and a young wife. My
grandmother remarried, and Dad spent
much of his childhood in eastern
Kentucky with his grandparents.
More than any other person, Dad
understood what Kentucky meant to me,
because it meant the same thing to him.
His mom remarried early, and though her
second husband was a good man, he was