J.D. Vance to Speak About Memoir Hillbilly Elegy Feb. 2

J.D. Vance ’13, author of the New York Times bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, will participate in a conversation at Yale Law School on February 2, 2017 moderated by Professor Amy Chua.

The event will begin with a dinner at 6:45 pm in Room 127 and the conversation will start at 7:10 pm. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by The Yale Federalist Society, First Generation Professionals, and the Yale National Security Group.

Vance will speak for the first portion of the discussion and then engage in a Q&A with Professor Chua before taking questions from the audience.

J.D. Vance grew up in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio, and the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. After serving in the Marine Corps, J.D. Vance attended Ohio State University and then Yale Law School. He rose to fame with his insightful and provocative memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which analyzes the decline of white working-class Americans through a personal lens. He also reflects on his time at Yale Law School in passages that are poignant and funny.

“As the 2016 election made clear, many Americans are hurting,” said Sam Adkisson ’18, Vice President of Events for the Yale Federalist Society. “Vance's book shines a light on the oft-overlooked men and women of Appalachia. It is an honor for us to be able to welcome J.D. Vance back to the Law School, where his memoir has already made its mark.”

Professor Amy Chua called Vance’s book “beautifully and powerfully written.”

“It’s also a profoundly important book, one that opens a window on a part of America usually hidden from view and offers genuine hope in the form of hard-hitting honesty,” wrote Chua.

The Yale Federalist Society is a group of conservatives and libertarians committed to the free exchange of ideas about law and policy.

First Generation Professionals (FGP) is an affinity group at Yale Law School for students who are the first in their families to go to professional school or who are from a working class or lower-income background.

The Yale Law National Security Group aims to foster a non-partisan community focused on national security and foreign policy within the law school.