The Vance family story is equal parts tragedy and inspiration. Vance paints a clear picture of the struggles of many impoverished rural Americans. Having grown up in a small town in western N.C., there were many parts of the book that rang painfully true. It’s difficult to accurately describe the people we love. Most of the time they either come off as valiant heroes or despicable villains. Vance honors his family by painting them with honest strokes that do not over-inflate the good, or explain away the bad. The result is a captivating must-read, that will likely be one of my favorite books of the year.