Reading James at Forty

1. Hillbilly Elegy

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I read Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. It tells the story of a white working-class kid who grew up in a poor, rural Appalachian community. Coming from a family with a history of violence and surrounded by an atmosphere of hopelessness, he also had to endure his mother's drug addiction and the abuse that came with it. Despite these challenges, he managed to escape that environment, graduate from Ohio State University and Yale Law School, and build a stable and healthy family. In this book, he reflects on the world he came from, the children still trapped in such circumstances, and the question of whether poverty and despair can ever truly be overcome.

He lists the many strokes of luck he had in his life, saying that without even one of them, he wouldn't be where he is today. Among them were his grandparents, who would rise to defend their family with guns and chainsaws if necessary; his kind-hearted sister, who cared for him like a second mother; his aunt and uncle, who grew up in the same environment but built a happy and stable family after marrying loving and responsible spouses; his cousin, who encouraged him to join the U.S. Navy; and the superior officer he met there, who taught him everything from the ground up. He also benefited from a scholarship program at Yale Law School that supported disadvantaged students like him, as well as professors who taught him how to set priorities and recommended him for the positions he wanted.

He acknowledges that he was given opportunities that most working-class white kids in his hometown never had. After meeting the love of his life at Yale, he built a beautiful family, and now, approaching forty, he is the father of three children and a U.S. senator representing his home state of Ohio. Perhaps he was chosen by fate—or even by God—to serve the people of his community.

When his mother, unable to overcome the anxiety and trauma caused by the daily violence she had endured in her parents' younger years, turned to drugs and cycled through different men each year, negatively affecting Vance, he had his grandparents to protect him. They helped him express his thoughts and emotions, taught him that a lack of knowledge was different from a lack of intelligence, worked through math problems with him, and guided him whenever he felt lost. They instilled in him the belief that he could achieve anything and passed on as many good values as they could. Most importantly, he was able to spend the crucial three years of high school living with his grandmother, which gave him the stability he needed to focus on his studies and eventually go to college.

Later, by joining the U.S. Navy, he learned how to be a responsible adult, discipline himself, and build the confidence to trust in his own abilities. With this foundation, he was able to control his own actions, commit to his studies, and—through a stroke of luck—gain admission to Yale Law School, where he found even more opportunities.