James David "J. D." Vance (born James Donald Bowman; August 2, 1984) is an American author and venture capitalist known for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy. The book is about the Appalachian values of his upbringing and their relation to the social problems of his hometown. The book was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017. It was a finalist for the 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. It attracted significant attention during the 2016 election from national media as a window into the white working class. Vance attracted criticism from some Eastern Kentuckians who said he was "not a hillbilly", while others supported him.
Video J. D. Vance
Early life
James David Vance was born in August 1984 in Middletown, Ohio, as James Donald Bowman, the son of Donald Bowman and Bev Vance. Vance's only sister, Lindsay, was born when his mother was nineteen years old. His mother and father divorced when Vance was a toddler. Not long after, Vance was adopted by his mother's third husband. Vance's mother struggled with prescription pain medication which led to a heroin addiction throughout his childhood. She left behind a string of husbands and offered little stability. As a result Vance and his sister were raised primarily by his grandparents.
Maps J. D. Vance
Education
Vance was educated at Middletown High School, a public high school in his home town. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in Iraq performing public affairs activities. Vance later received a B.A. degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. While he was at Ohio State, he worked for Republican state senator Bob Schuler.
After graduating from Ohio State, Vance received a J.D. degree from Yale Law School. During his first year at Yale, his mentor and professor Amy Chua convinced him to write his memoir.
Life and career
After law school, Vance worked as the principal in a venture capital firm owned by Peter Thiel, known as Mithril Capital Management LLC. In December 2016, Vance indicated that he planned to move to Ohio to start a nonprofit and potentially run for office and work on drug addiction. The non-profit is called Our Ohio Renewal.
In January 2017, Vance became a CNN Contributor. In April 2017, Ron Howard signed on to direct a movie based on Hillbilly Elegy.
In early 2018, Vance was reported to have been considering a bid for U.S. Senate as a Republican.
Personal life
Vance is married to one of his former law school classmates, Usha, an Indian-American woman who was a law clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during the 2017-2018 Term. The couple has one son, Ewan.
Works
- Vance, J. D. (June 2016). Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Harper Press. ISBN 9780062300546.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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