Hillbilly Elegy is a story of family stability and family instability. It’s a story of upward mobility in rural America. And it’s a story of regional values. It’s the story of J.D. Vance growing up in Appalachia.

Vance was raised in Middletown, Ohio with Appalachian values of loyalty and love of country. But contrasting these values was verbal abuse and violence as Vance’s mother suffered from drug addictions and cycled through relationships. Despite the instability, Vance found solace during key times in Breathitt County, Kentucky with his extended family—especially his grandmother: “mamaw.” Mamaw’s tough but loving support helped Vance attend college at Ohio State University and then move on to Yale Law School.

“Now consider the sum of my life after I moved in with Mamaw permanently. At the end of tenth grade, I lived with Mamaw, in her house, with no one else. At the end of eleventh grade, I lived with Mamaw, in her house, with no one else. At the end of twelfth grade, I lived with Mamaw, in her house, with no one else…What I remember most is that I was happy—I no longer feared the school bell at the end of the day, I knew where I’d be living the next month, and no one’s romantic decisions affected my life. And out of that came the opportunities I’ve had for the past twelve years.”

Yet Vance’s book extends beyond his life story. Hillbilly Elegy explores the responsibility of families as well as culture and upward mobility, especially for rural communities. He also questions certain values and shares insight into the flood of outsider politics during the 2016 presidential campaign.

While this book has been met with equal measures of praise and criticism, it is in fact a true account of Vance living in poverty, capturing both his observations and experience all while processing the difficult dynamic of the family situation. The complex topics, albeit tough to wrestle with, are important to understand how poverty can look. To help readers process the themes of the book, HarperCollins Publishers has created a reading guide for the book. We invite you to explore this resource, whether reading with a group or on your own. —Sarah Hackman, Associate Director of Strategic Communications

James David “J.D.” Vance is a venture capitalist and author of Hillbilly Elegy, which was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017. In April 2017, Ron Howard signed on to direct and produce a film adaptation of Vance’s book, which is slated for release on Netflix in 2020. Glenn Close and Amy Adams have been cast as mamaw and Vance’s mother, respectively.