Hillbilly Elegy

relationship experiences, and she
answered almost reflexively: “Of
course. I was always ready for battle
with Dan,” she told me. “Sometimes I’d
even brace myself for a big argument—
like physically put myself in a fighting
position—before he stopped speaking.”
I was shocked. Aunt Wee and Dan have
the most successful marriage I’ve seen.
Even after twenty years, they interact
like they started dating last year. Her
marriage got even better, she said, only
after she realized that she didn’t have to
be on guard all the time.
Lindsay told me the same. “When I
fought with Kevin, I’d insult him and tell
him to do what I knew he wanted to do