Hillbilly Elegy

known.” A few minutes later, she was
dead.
I didn’t cry when Mamaw died, and I
didn’t cry for days thereafter. Aunt Wee
and Lindsay grew frustrated with me,
then worried: You’re just so stoic, they
said. You need to grieve like the rest of
us or you’ll burst.
I was grieving in my own way, but I
sensed that our entire family was on the
verge of collapse, and I wanted to give
the impression of emotional strength. We
all knew how Mom had reacted to
Papaw’s death, but Mamaw’s death
created new pressures: It was time to
wind down the estate, figure out
Mamaw’s debts, dispose of her property,