Book Review: Hillbilly Elegy

by C.J. Chase

Several years ago, I wrote book review for Charles Murray’s Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, which chronicles how our society is stratifying into an educated elite vs. everyone else. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by debut author J.D. Vance, is a good companion book to that one.

My interest was piqued when I read several reviews (including criticisms from both the left and the right) and then spoke to someone who’d read (and liked) it. I decided I needed to try it for myself.

Vance is a young man to be writing a memoir—only 31 at the time. He begins by outlining his grandparents’ story. Bonnie Blanton was 14 and pregnant when she eloped with 17-year-old Jim Vance. They decided to leave the family homestead in a Kentucky “holler” and head north to the industrial towns of Ohio. The young couple lost that baby, but they later had three more children, a boy and two girls. 

Ohio might be just across the river from Kentucky, but Appalachian honor culture was a world away from the orderly, and rather boring, suburbs of the 1950’s. Separated from all that was familiar, the family started to spiral down into alcohol abuse and marital infidelity. Vance’s mother never recovered from the increasing dysfunction, and her own adulthood became a revolving door of boyfriends and husbands.

The only truly consistent person in Vance’s life was with his grandmother, and by the time he was in high school, he lived with her. After high school, he joined the military and served in Iraq. The Marines were the making of Vance, teaching the discipline that had been lacking in his family life. After getting out, he went to Ohio State and then was one of the few graduates of a public university accepted into Yale Law School.

Some lessons from Vance’s life:

·      Poverty is as much a state of mind as a number. At one point in Vance’s youth, his mother and her husband/boyfriend/man-of-the-moment pulled down a six-figure household income. And yet, they had nothing to show for it because they spent the money frivolously rather than acquiring savings or assets.

·      If you are poor (or just have the mentality of the poor), it is very difficult to pull yourself out. The people around you tend to be people with the same mindset, and there is no one to show you a different way. Simple things, like college applications or college financial aid, are complicated to those who have no assistance or guidance.

·      As people become convinced the deck is stacked against them, they give up trying. Vance wrote about the difficulty companies have finding unskilled workers who will actually work. One example was a young man with a baby who landed a good paying job for one with his (lack of) skills. One would think he would be thrilled with the chance to earn a decent income, but not having learned discipline, he was so unreliable his employer eventually fired him.

Reading this book caused me to ponder my own family background. At one point, my ancestors suffered from the same destructive forces as Vance’s. My great-grandfather grew up in Appalachia, the illiterate son of an alcoholic, but he changed the trajectory of his life and his descendants’ lives. Unlike his father, he worked hard, married a fine woman, and made certain his children received educations. Even though my grandfather stayed in Reese Hollow to take over the family farm (his siblings left to become teachers and a minister), he too worked hard and married well.

My g-grandparents with their five (surviving) children. My grandfather is the little guy in front.

My mother grew up on that same farm, the seventh of my grandparent’s ten children. Like Vance’s grandparents, she left home at 18 for the big city (Chicago, in her case) during the great migration.  But she had a high school diploma, a strong faith, and a supportive family to sustain her.

My grandfather with the oldest 7 of his 10 children. My mom is the baby on his lap.

Hillbilly Elegy is a good first step toward bringing understanding to a part of the country that has been in decline. The problems of the Vance family are found across much of the now de-industrialized Rust Belt where hopelessness has set in. What is to be done? There are no easy answers. The problems are as much spiritual ones as financial or educational ones.

I think Hillbilly Elegy would make a very good book for church reading groups. Perhaps it will spur Christians to mission work right here on the home front.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

--2 Chronicles 7:14

TBCN's Huge Birthday Bash Book Giveaway

by Anita Mae Draper

The Book Club Network Inc

Finding Hope In Reading Groups

The Book Club Network (TBCN) is giving away 10 books every day in August as they celebrate their BIRTHDAY BASH. As book lovers, we're helping them celebrate and spread the word.

When I mentioned to the founder, Nora St Laurent, that I didn't know much about TBCN except that they give away books every month and hold on-line book discussions, she said she'd send something about the background of TBCN. What follows here is an informative interview of Nora and TBCN by Lisa Harris. After you read this, I hope you rush over to join TBCN and get in on some of those free books up for grabs.

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Nora St Laurent’s Bio: Nora is the CEO of The Book Club Network Incorporated. Nora and her husband run The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org She runs two book clubs near Atlanta, Ga., Former ACFW On-Line Book Club. Nora currently writes a Book Club column for the Christian Fiction OnLine Magazine and is a Book Club Talk Columnist for Novel Rocket. You can read author interviews on her Finding Hope Through Fiction blog, located at http://www.psalm516.blogspot.com, and reviews around the web at The Christian Pulse Mag, Title Trakk, Novel Reviews, and Suspense Zone.

What inspired you start TBCN?

The Book Club Network was born out of a desire to share Christian Fiction authors with other book clubs, share book club ideas with other leaders and to encourage the authors who are writing such amazing books. The economy has been really tough for a few years and people are not parting with money like they used to. Through TBCN they can take their time and find the right book or win it. We have give away opportunities each month. ALL of our contests are from the 19^th – 21^st of the month.

I run two face to face book clubs one at the Christian Book Store I work at and the other at the church I attend. It’s a position I never imagined I’d be in since I didn’t read for pleasure much before I started working in a Christian book store 11 years ago.

But since I love talking with people and the main thing to talk about in a book store is books I started reading Christian Fiction (publishers sent ARC copies to our store and I started checking them out) The first book that rocked my world and got me hooked in Christian Fiction was a book by Linda Nichols called Not a Sparrow Falls her next book did me in and I couldn’t stop talking about it, At the Scent of Water was her next book that prompted me to contact the author and let her know how much her book touched my spirit.

After reading these two books and telling customers about these reads I had a reason to read.  These books spoke to me because I wasn’t expecting it. It reminded me of the stories in the bible. Jesus is the greatest story teller and He knew a story could change a life or prick our spirit and move us in a direction we never thought we’d be in.

I tell you all that to say I’m dyslexic and I have not been a fan of reading. Movies were more my thing. I could watch a movie of a book and have a lot more fun. Reading Christian Fiction changed my life in more ways than one.  I wanted to tell everyone about the greatest book I read, and I’d do that at the book store.  It was possible to talk about the new book I read and loved for about a month or more but when At the Scent of Water and Not a Sparrow Falls were not on the shelf anymore, I had to find some other books to talk about at work.  I’m not a very fast reader so; discovering the next new book was a challenge. Would I get the book read before it disappeared from the shelf?  How long do books live on a book shelf? The shelf life of a book was a mystery to me and still is.

I was whining to my husband Fred about my problem. How can I get the word out about great books for a very long period of time??? Being a man who likes to face challenges head we began to talk about how we could do this and the fact that I can’t read books fast enough to keep up with it’s shelf life at the store.

I also told him as a book club leader I wanted to promote great books and share them with other groups. Not everyone has the advantage of working at a book store and see what new books hit the shelves each week. Another struggle I had was if I had an author speaking at my book club I wanted to share them with other book clubs in the area. How could I do that? Where are book clubs meeting?

Our answer to many of these questions and more was the birth of The Book Club Network - TBCN. Connecting authors to book clubs and readers to their books; it’s also a network of book clubs as they post what they’ve read and how the meeting turned out.

It’s a place to find where a book club is located. We have a member map where you can find a book club near you. Message them and see if they are accepting new members. I envision it to be similar to be similar to the Weight Watchers program (don’t laugh Grin) you can go to a meeting anywhere in the country right? All you have to do is look on line and get connected. This is my hope for the future of TBCN.

Have there been any surprises for you @TBCN? What benefits have you seen by bringing readers and authors together?

I’ve been encouraged and fascinated by our growth. I can see there were other people out there like me wanting to connect with other book club members.

I’ll tell you what has surprised me is the author/reader interaction each month. This is something I didn’t foresee as I’ve watch the authors are having a blast interacting with the readers and visa/versa. The beauty of this discussion is it’s there forever for all to read no matter when you join TBCN.

The authors have done a great job coming up with questions for reader to answer that give them a peek into their book – create interest and then the discussion helps book club leaders connect with the author. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the amount of authors that want to be featured @The Book Club Network. It’s been a great thing.

The interaction with the authors is almost like having a book club meeting on line. It’s a huge benefit for both the authors who’ve wanted to ask clubs questions and readers who want to get to know authors. The authors are catching on. Our sponsors have loved the interaction as well. Members have told me that they love the author interaction from the 19^th-21^st as much as having a chance to win all these books. It’s hard to know if a book will be a fit for your group so these interaction times are helpful for that and so much more. Another thing I love about TBCN members is the fact they are not afraid to share what they think in a good way. I’ve learned so much and laughed out loud in some discussion where the questions lead to sharing funny moments.

My hope is that book club leaders and/or members participate in the discussions and make that book connection with the author and their book. I want TBCN to be a tool for them in picking out their books. Maybe invite the author to speak to their book club on the phone. It’s my hope. The discussion will be there forever. No worries about a books shelf live here @TBCN. So, everyone has time to get to know each other!! It’s a beautiful thing!

How can readers join in the anniversary celebrations?

It’s easy to sign up to be a member of TBCN.  We ask a few questions for you to answer and for other information that helps us keep spammers and other information seekers out of the network. It’s also FREE. You have opportunities to win lots of books. For our BIRTHDAY BASH we are giving away 10 books a day and announcing winners once a week. You’ll have all week to enter the daily featured contests. 

Do you have any other comments for my readers?

 If you are avid reader this is the place for you to learn about the latest in Christian Fiction and interact with the author each month.

Are you a book club leader? Well this is the place for you to find your next book club pick. We’d also love for you to set up your Book club page at our site for others to see. It’s a place to share your latest featured book. Post pictures of your club and the field trips you’ve taken. The authors you’ve met and the book fun you’ve had. Learn from other book clubs that have already set up their pages.

Want to start a book club but felt it was too overwhelming? You can learn from other experienced book club leaders, and you can start right away making your book club list!

Do you like to win books? This is the place for you. You’ll have a chance to get to know the authors and their books and read genre’s you normally wouldn’t. We’ve been giving away about 100 books a month and for our birthday bash it’s going to be 10 books every day; starting August first. Winners are picked weekly and announced each weekly.

THANK YOU! You’ve been a grand host to have me here and let me talk about The Book Club Network and our Birthday Bash!! I hope to see you there @TBCN www.bookfun.org

You are a Blessing!!

Nora :o)

The Book Club Network CEO

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Anita here again... As a book club, TBCN has 59 different groups a book lover can join, like the ACFW book club, and including publisher groups like Bethany House and Revell. If you want to be in the know about today's book market, you should at the very least head over to www.bookfun.org to see what all the fuss is about.

I can't stress enough that if you're a Christian author, being a member of TBCN is a great way to help share the news about your own book, as well as get to know the people who've either read your book, or may read it in the future.

You might also want to check out the TBCN Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/146903260542/?ref=ts

As well, Fred St Laurent recently announced the addition of a Facebook page for The Book Club Network Store (and magazine). Fred stated, "We really encourage everyone to continue to post HERE in the Group. Of course things get buried here quickly and so we decided to build something where we can focus more on what will be in the Magazine, the Giveaways (300 books this month) and special in store promotions... Please stop by, like it (if you do) and let us know what you think"

So, there are an additional 200 books up for grabs, plus... I saw this tidbit on the TBCN home page:

Click the picture to register for the Kindle Fire 2 giveaway!

Be sure to sign up as a customer in our store (no purchase required) to be entered into our Kindle Fire Give Away!!!


That's a LOT of giveaways! Thank you Nora and Fred St. Laurent for starting TBCN.

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and 2 of their 4 kids. She writes stories set on the prairies of Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Anita Mae has semi-finaled in the Historical Romance category of the ACFW's 2011 Genesis contest and finaled in the Inspirational category of the 2011 Daphne du Maurier, the 2011 Fool for Love, the 2011 Duel on the Delta and 2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence contests. Anita Mae is represented by Mary Keeley of Books and Such Literary Agency. You can find Anita at http://www.anitamaedraper.com/