Hi, and thank you for your comment. I also don’t think Hillbilly Elegy represents Appalachia — it does represent a specific socioeconomic experience that exists in Appalachia, but that experience exists elsewhere, too. Most notably, it is in places like central Ohio, which is not within Appalachia, where that author and his mother grew up and where his grandparents started living as very young adults. I disagree with his theories about Appalachians spreading their broken culture, represented by the mentally ill people he describes, too. The people and phenomena he blames on Appalachia are again not unique to our region. Unfortunately, there are impoverished, mentally unwell people who are also addicted to drugs all over our country. I wrote a bit about my thoughts on the premises of his book here: A day of reckoning for Big Pharma: The elegy that Appalachia really needs | Salon.com

Thank you again, and all my best to you!