Hillbilly Elegy

anyone, including Mom. I suspect that
they were physically abusive to each
other in the way that Mom and most of
her men were: a bit of pushing, some
plate throwing, but nothing more. What I
do know is that between the end of his
marriage with Mom and the beginning of
his marriage with Cheryl—which
occurred when I was four—Dad had
changed for the better. He credits a more
serious involvement with his faith. In
this, Dad embodied a phenomenon
social scientists have observed for
decades: Religious folks are much
happier. Regular church attendees
commit fewer crimes, are in better
health, live longer, make more money,