Hillbilly Elegy

Ken nor his children ever stole from
me.) Though I loved living with her, my
new home tested my patience on many
levels. I still harbored the insecurity that
I was burdening her. More important,
she was a hard woman to live with,
quick-witted and sharp-tongued. If I
didn’t take out the garbage, she told me
to “stop being a lazy piece of shit.”
When I forgot to do my homework, she
called me “shit for brains” and reminded
me that unless I studied, I’d amount to
nothing. She demanded that I play card
games with her—usually gin rummy—
and she never lost. “You are the worst
fucking cardplayer I’ve ever met,” she’d
gloat. (That one didn’t make me feel