Comment

Hillbilly Elegy

a Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
Jun 24, 2018byeh65 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
As a bewildered immigrant from Asia, I read this book trying to understand what “hillbilly" or "white trash" are all about, why billionaire Trump is embraced by some poor white Americans. I grab the book from library before a trip to California and completed the reading thru the six-hour long flight back home. It is easy to read, mesmerizing, and full of emotional impact. Strongly recommend it. Although not yet having the full answer to my questions, after reading Hillbilly Elegy, through author’s vivid description about his chaotic childhood and ways to escape the impact of these trauma, I do have better understanding about the struggles and cultural backgrounds to entrap the “hillbilly" or “white trash” people from escaping the economic difficulties, and their cynicism and mistrust against social elites, mainstream media…etc. The author fought against all odds of his childhood trauma and ended up a Yale Law School graduate. At the end of the book, he concludes that those problems present in his home towns may not be solved by government or policies, but more by the church or any other ways to open up the cultural enclosement and to encourage the community engagement & broad family support. A great reading!