Hillbilly Elegy

for the kids, and buy nice Christmas
presents for Lindsay. On one of my trips
home, Mamaw and I took Lindsay’s two
oldest kids on a trip to Hocking Hills
State Park, a beautiful region of
Appalachian Ohio, to meet up with Aunt
Wee and Dan. I drove the whole way, I
paid for gas, and I bought everyone
dinner (admittedly at Wendy’s). I felt
like such a man, a real grown-up. To
laugh and joke with the people I loved
most as they scarfed down the meal that
I’d provided gave me a feeling of joy
and accomplishment that words can’t
possibly describe.
For my entire life, I had oscillated
between fear at my worst moments and a