Free Republic

This piece was first published in 2019. My book Hillbilly Elegy is really an exploration of the American Dream as it was experienced by me and my family and the broader community in which I lived. It chronicled a real decline in the American Dream, not because people weren’t consuming as much as they have in the past – if you look at the trend lines, we’re certainly able to buy more stuff today than we ever have been able to. It’s a story about family decline, childhood trauma, opioid abuse, community decline, decline of the manufacturing sector, and all...

Hey Y'all, February 5th of 2005 will mark 7 years for me as a daily reader of, and sometimes contributor to, the Free Republic. While cleaning out a few files over the weekend, I came across the following piece of fiction I cranked out a few years ago after my friend Bill was killed in an accident. I wrote it for two reasons: 1.) to put my own life in perspective after losing someone I cared a great deal about and 2.) for Bill's sister, Sue. I wanted her to understand that although his life had been cut short, it...