Hillbilly Elegy

no control. Mamaw and Papaw had
saved me from succumbing entirely to
that notion, and the Marine Corps broke
new ground. If I had learned
helplessness at home, the Marines were
teaching learned willfulness.
The day I graduated from boot camp
was the proudest of my life. An entire
crew of hillbillies showed up for my
graduation—eighteen in total—including
Mamaw, sitting in a wheelchair, buried
underneath a few blankets, looking
frailer than I remembered. I showed
everyone around base, feeling like I had
just won the lottery, and when I was
released for a ten-day leave the next day,
we caravanned back to Middletown.