Recommended by Professor Butcher<\/p>\n
Over the winter break, I found myself absolutely engrossed in\u00a0J.D. Vance\u2019s\u00a0Hillbilly Elegy,\u00a0a memoir that meditates on Vance\u2019s early life within a poor, isolated Appalachian town, one of many that dot the areas directly south and east of us. Part personal narrative and part social critique, Vance\u2019s book considers the implications of class and legacy as they relate to political ideology, and how\u2014in failing to achieve the American dream, a dream many Americans feel was promised to them\u2014a large swath of this nation has come to feel cheated, ignored, and abandoned. The book has been receiving a lot of praise as of late\u2014in part due to its relevance to the 2016 election\u2014and that praise is well-earned. It\u2019s a beautiful, heartbreaking book, and it doesn\u2019t hurt that Vance makes frequent reference to Highway 23, just a mile away from here. It reminds you how close these worlds really come.<\/p>\n
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