Summary, Analysis, and Review of J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis PLEASE NOTE: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Start Publishing Notes' Summary, Analysis, and Review of J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis includes a summary of the book, review, analysis & key takeaways, and a detailed About the Author section. PREVIEW: J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir about his life growing up in Ohio as the child of a working-class family with roots in Appalachia. Vance uses his experiences in a dysfunctional family to talk about the problems with what he calls hillbilly culture. He says that hillbilly culture is mired in laziness, drug use, and learned helplessness. Although hillbillies claim to be committed to hard work, Vance believes they actually refuse to work at available jobs, miring themselves in poverty. He argues that they must recommit to institutions like the family and the