Skip to main content
close
Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable contrast.

Registration now closed

Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance

2019-09-12 18:15:00 2019-09-12 20:15:00 America/Chicago Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance Circle of Readers Book Discussion Merrillville

Thursday, September 12
6:15pm - 8:15pm

Add to Calendar 2019-09-12 18:15:00 2019-09-12 20:15:00 America/Chicago Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance Circle of Readers Book Discussion Merrillville

Merrillville

Meeting Room A

Circle of Readers Book Discussion

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class. Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis--that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck. The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.'s grandparents were "dirt poor and in love," and moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vance's grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their chaotic family history. A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.

AGE GROUP: | Adults (19-99) |

TAGS: | Discussion Groups |

Merrillville

Phone: 219-769-3541

Branch manager
Chris

Hours
We're closed Friday July 04
Mon, Jun 30 10:00AM to 8:30PM
Tue, Jul 01 10:00AM to 8:30PM
Wed, Jul 02 10:00AM to 8:30PM
Thu, Jul 03 9:00AM to 5:00PM
(3rd of July Holiday Hours)
Fri, Jul 04 Closed
Sat, Jul 05 9:00AM to 5:00PM
Sun, Jul 06 12:00PM to 4:00PM

About the branch

The Merrillville branch library encompasses over 114,000 sq ft of electronic and print resources, and visual and musical collections. The library offers free WIFI, public internet computers, rooms for quiet study or small groups, and public meeting rooms. Our vast collections of Lake County history and genealogy sources make the Merrillville branch a popular destination for research by visitors from all around the country.

Merrillville branch has three fantastic floors of informational and recreational materials. The main floor contains our popular collection of new books, large-print material, magazines and newspapers, teen, anime, and an enormous selection of music and DVDs. Our Genealogy Room has numerous resources including microfilm of local newspapers, obituary indexes, and many other historical resources. Our Book Sale room, open during select hours Monday-Saturday, is full of unique finds. 

The Upper Level includes tables for quiet study, a tremendous reference collection, our “Indiana Room” for specialized Hoosier historical research, and our locally known statue “The Reader” by artist Hermann Gurfinkel.

The entire lower level houses our bright and airy Children's Department where children will find fun games, books, music and magazines to fulfill their reading pleasure as well as attend engaging kids’ programs. This is also where our public meeting rooms are located, where our library events and programs are held.

Upcoming events

Mon, Jul 07, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2
This event is full

Mon, Jul 07, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Meeting Room A

Mon, Jul 07, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level
This event is full

Tue, Jul 08, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Programming Room

Tue, Jul 08, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Meeting Room B

Tue, Jul 08, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3
This event is full

Tue, Jul 08, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Children's Programming Room

Tue, Jul 08, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Meeting Room B

Wed, Jul 09, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Programming Room

Wed, Jul 09, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Children's Programming Room

Wed, Jul 09, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level
This event is full

Wed, Jul 09, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Meeting Room B

Thu, Jul 10, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Thu, Jul 10, 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A

Thu, Jul 10, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Thu, Jul 10, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Meeting Room D
This event is full

Fri, Jul 11, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Meeting Room A

Sat, Jul 12, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Meeting Room B

Sat, Jul 12, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Children's Programming Room

Mon, Jul 14, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Mon, Jul 14, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Mon, Jul 14, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Children's Programming Room

Mon, Jul 14, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Meeting Room A

Tue, Jul 15, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Programming Room

Tue, Jul 15, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Children's Programming Room

Tue, Jul 15, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Meeting Room B

Tue, Jul 15, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Tue, Jul 15, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Meeting Room B

Wed, Jul 16, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Meeting Room B

Wed, Jul 16, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Children's Programming Room
This event is full

Wed, Jul 16, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Wed, Jul 16, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Meeting Room B

Thu, Jul 17, 11:00am - 11:45am
Children's Programming Room

Thu, Jul 17, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Thu, Jul 17, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Thu, Jul 17, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Meeting Room A

Fri, Jul 18, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Meeting Room A

Mon, Jul 21, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Programming Room

Mon, Jul 21, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Mon, Jul 21, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Tue, Jul 22, 10:30am - 11:30am
Children's Programming Room

Tue, Jul 22, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Tue, Jul 22, 6:00pm - 7:15pm
Meeting Room A

Wed, Jul 23, 10:30am - 11:00am
Children's Programming Room

Wed, Jul 23, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Children's Programming Room

Wed, Jul 23, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Thu, Jul 24, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Thu, Jul 24, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Thu, Jul 24, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Board Room

Fri, Jul 25, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Children's Programming Room

Mon, Jul 28, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Mon, Jul 28, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Tue, Jul 29, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Meeting Room B

Tue, Jul 29, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Wed, Jul 30, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Children's Programming Room
Please contact the library to register for this event.

Wed, Jul 30, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Wed, Jul 30, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Staff Meeting Room

Thu, Jul 31, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Thu, Jul 31, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Room B

Thu, Jul 31, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Fri, Aug 01, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Children's Programming Room

Mon, Aug 04, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Small Group Room #2

Mon, Aug 04, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Upper Level

Tue, Aug 05, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Children's Programming Room

Tue, Aug 05, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Small Group Room #3

Cancelled
Tue, Aug 05, 4:30pm - 6:00pm

Tue, Aug 05, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Meeting Room B