Hillbilly Elegy

-
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in CrisisHillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All I can think about and could think about while reading this book was that I am so unbelievably ignorant of the world, and not just the world, but the good old US of A. This young man may as well live on another planet from me. His experiences have opened by eyes. May I be less judgmental, and more Godly in my associations with people. I can not possibly know their experiences, much less their hearts.

Kudos J.D. Vance - you have quite a story.


View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So many thoughts

-
As a young 21 - 22 year old senior in college, I drove around in my VW Golf, with a sign taped onto the glove box that said  "YOU ARE IN CONTROL."  Well, my fiance, soon to be husband, used to tease me and tell me that I needed to give birth to a "litter."  He was of the view that I had the same Type A personality that a cat has.  In his experience, cats mellowed out after they had their first litter.  This is not scientific mind you, just anecdotal.   I didn't mellow out any time soon, as I am sure the 4 step-children we had custody of within the first 6 months of our marriage can attest to.  I didn't mellow out for a long, long time.  Too long, in fact.  Bless those 4 beautiful children who had to endure my obsession to control them.  Not to be misunderstood, there were A LOT of things that we needed to get a handle on and control was the only way to go about it.  But I took farther than was necessary or healthy.  "Li...
Read more

Obituary

-
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the j...
Read more

Sunday

-
Now that church starts at 9:00 and ends at 12:00; and all kids are above the age of 5; and I have given up the ridiculous guilt complex I used to impose on myself about "needing" to spend time with our family members, I can have a beautiful Sunday afternoon/evening. Chicken enchiladas and red beans and rice for "dinner" about 1:30, (with help from the hubby, of course) a little cleaning in the kitchen to wash all the pans and dishes I messed up, in bed for a nap around 2:30, sleep until 5:44 (YEA!) and I am one happy camper. Home evening around 6:15 - we reviewed our 2009 goals. What does it mean when most family members don't even remember what their goals were? Home evening treat and the Sunday is almost over. Four girls start school tomorrow after a 2 week long spring break. Yea, 2 WEEKS! It has been good. A little of this and a little of that.
Read more