Hillbilly Elegy - A Complete Summary Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis is a memoir by J. D. Vance about how he was raised to live by the code of Appalachian values. He connects his upbringing to the social problems concerning of his hometown. Hillbilly Elegy is a personal analysis of white working-class Americans that shows how their condition is worsening as the world they know falls apart piece by piece. We also learn how...