Hillbilly Elegy

school, planning for college at Miami
University. But there was a catch: “Mom
told me I couldn’t go to college unless I
broke up with my boyfriend. So I moved
out the day after graduation, and by
August, I was pregnant.”
Almost immediately, her life began
to disintegrate. Racial prejudice bubbled
to the surface when she announced that a
black baby was joining the family.
Announcements led to arguments, and
then one day Gail found herself without
a family. “I didn’t hear from any of our
relatives,” Gail told me. “My mom said
she never wanted to hear my name
again.”
Given her age and the lack of family