Hillbilly Elegy

hillbilly, I considered heading to the
Middle East to kill terrorists. But the
prospect of military service—the
screaming drill instructors, the constant
exercise, the separation from my family
—frightened me. Until Rachael told me
to talk to a recruiter—implicitly arguing
that she thought I could handle it—
joining the Marines seemed as plausible
as flying to Mars. Now, just weeks
before I owed a tuition deposit to Ohio
State, I could think of nothing but the
Marine Corps.
So one Saturday in late March, I
walked into a military recruiter’s office
and asked him about the Marine Corps.
He didn’t try to sell me on anything. He