<em>Hillbilly Elegy</em> Doesn’t Reflect the Appalachia I Know

Owsley County, Kentucky, where my aunt lives, is not so different from Breathitt County, where Vance’s grandmother was born and where, in the book, he spent a lot of time. In fact, the two counties share a border. Nearly 40 percent of the population in Owsley County lives in poverty, and even before COVID-19, less than half of the town participated in the labor force. The Census Bureau currently estimates the average per capita income to be $17,766, and Owsley is often cited as one of the poorest counties in America.

Read: Hillbilly Elegy is one of the worst movies of the year

This poverty isn’t what Aunt Ruth sees when she looks at her community. She sees Melinda, a woman who has spent her life making sure needy children have access to nutritious food. She sees Eula, who almost single-handedly built a network of clinics to provide health care to the region. She sees Katie, who—despite having parents who struggled with addiction—earned a college scholarship and has spent her career as a nurse helping others.

I see these attributes too, because when I was growing up in Appalachia, Ruth and the other women in my family taught me to see them. The creativity and ingenuity that exist in this part of the world. The way individuals come together to take care of one another, even when outside systems have not taken care of them. The beauty and hope that undergird the poverty.

In many ways, the arc of my life looks like that of Vance, who eventually went to Yale. I was born in Appalachia to two college-age parents who brought me home from the hospital to a rented trailer. I grew up without a lot of resources and with a strong hillbilly accent. Despite my humble beginnings, I eventually earned three Ivy League degrees and am now a lawyer in Louisville.

But I don’t think of Appalachia as somewhere I escaped. I see it as the place that shaped who I became. It taught me to value family, community, and generosity. I understand that I was given opportunities that others worked hard to build for me. I don’t think I am undeniably better off for leaving Appalachia. I recognize that although I gained many opportunities, I lost a great deal as well.

I don’t have the same connection to land, community, and family as my relatives who stayed. My sense of identity and belonging is less anchored than that of many I know who have spent their whole life in the mountains. I am grateful that I had the chance to see the world, in part because it solidified my desire to return to Kentucky. But when I came home, I struggled to understand how I fit in to that which I had left behind.

If you watch Hillbilly Elegy, remember that its portrayal of Appalachia is designed to elevate Vance above the community from which he came. Remember that it seeks to tell his story in a way that aligns with a simplistic rags-to-riches narrative. Think critically about how that narrative influences the way we are taught to think about poverty, progress, and identity.