Hillbilly Elegy

are stacked high against them, and many
succumb: to crime or an early death at
worst, domestic strife and welfare
dependency at best. But others make it.
There’s Jane Rex. There’s Lindsay, who
blossomed in the midst of Mamaw’s
death; Aunt Wee, who put her life on
track after ditching an abusive husband.
Each benefited from the same types of
experiences in one way or another. They
had a family member they could count
on. And they saw—from a family friend,
an uncle, or a work mentor—what was
available and what was possible.
Not long after I began thinking about
what might help the American working
class get ahead, a team of economists,