NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
In an op-ed published in The Guardian this week, Indian American author Neema Avashia, who grew up in Appalachia, delivers a searing critique of JD Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. Avashia, whose book Another Appalachia offers a different perspective of the region, calls Vance an “opportunist” who uses his memoir to promote a political agenda.
Avashia recounts her initial excitement upon discovering Hillbilly Elegy at a bookstore in Boston, only to be quickly disillusioned by its content. She writes, “I barely read 30 pages before I saw the book Hillbilly Elegy for what it was: a political platform masquerading as memoir. Before I saw JD Vance for what he was: an opportunist.”
Avashia accuses Vance of perpetuating harmful stereotypes about Appalachia, describing his portrayal as a “flat, stereotyped representation” that ignores the region’s diversity and complexities. “JD Vance doesn’t represent Appalachia. JD Vance only represents himself,” she asserts.
She contrasts her own background with Vance’s, noting that while Vance is white, Christian, and has generational ties to the region, she is the daughter of Indian immigrants who settled in Appalachia due to job opportunities in the chemical industry. Despite their different backgrounds, both left Appalachia for higher education and have lived away for as long as they lived there.
Avashia highlights the exclusion of minorities from Vance’s narrative, stating, “Black folks don’t exist in his narrative. Queer folks don’t exist in his narrative.” She criticizes how Hillbilly Elegy has been received by readers outside Appalachia, particularly in liberal, educated circles in Boston, who mistakenly believe it provides an accurate representation of the region.
“People like me and my family – immigrants who neighbor and labor alongside white working-class Appalachians – don’t exist in Vance’s narrative,” Avashia writes. She emphasizes that Vance’s portrayal reinforces negative stereotypes, leading to a perception that Appalachia’s problems are self-inflicted and deserved.
Avashia also touches on the broader implications of Vance’s rise to political prominence, pointing out that his narrative has been used to support his candidacy and platform. “Vance’s narrative, and the people and institutions who championed it, who profited off it, are why he is Trump’s pick for vice president,” she states.
Avashia calls for a more nuanced and inclusive narrative of Appalachia, one that reflects its true diversity and challenges the stereotypes perpetuated by Vance’s memoir. “Appalachia deserves a more complicated narrative, and better representation, than a Trump-Vance presidency offers us,” she concludes.
Cover: Neema Avashia’s photo from her author website. JD Vance’s photo from Wikipedia.
