J.D. Vance
Bestselling Author | Exploring Appalachia & American Divides
About
J. D.
Vance is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which offers a searing look at poverty, addiction, and social dislocation in Appalachian America. A former Marine and Yale Law graduate, Vance has become a leading voice on the challenges facing working-class communities.
His incisive commentary on economic, social, and cultural divides has been featured in outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Vance's talks provide nuanced perspectives on the real-world impacts of policy, empowering audiences to better understand the lived experiences behind the headlines.
Talks1
America's forgotten working class
J.D. Vance grew up in a small, poor city in the Rust Belt of southern Ohio, where he had a front-row seat to many of the social ills plaguing America: a heroin epidemic, failing schools, families torn apart by divorce and sometimes violence. In a searching talk that will echo throughout the country's working-class towns, the author details what the loss of the American Dream feels like and raises an important question that everyone from community leaders to policy makers needs to ask: How can we help kids from America's forgotten places break free from hopelessness and live better lives?
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