Being vice president of the United States is often considered a thankless job. John Nance Garner, vice president under Franklin Roosevelt until 1941, once described the job as being “not worth a bucket of spit.” But what if you’re next in line, and the president is 78 years old, and people have already tried to assassinate him twice?

J. D. Vance will be sworn into office as vice president along with President Trump Monday. Most of us know little about Vance, except that he was the young guy with the beard, standing behind Trump when Trump was speaking. And Vance is young for the office of vice president. At 40 years old, Vance will be the third youngest person to hold the position.

J.D. Vance was a U. S. Senator from Ohio when he was selected by Donald Trump to be his running mate in last year’s presidential election. Before being elected to the Senate in 2022, Vance was a venture capitalist, having graduated from Ohio State and from Yale Law School. He is married and has three small children. But Vance has an interesting story of his own, and how he got to the second highest office in the country is interesting, to say the least.

Several years ago, I read a book by a little known writer named J. D. Vance. Little did I know that he would someday be vice president. “Hillbilly Elegy” is a biography by Vance that primarily deals with his childhood. The subtitle of the book aptly states that it is “A memoir of a family and culture in crisis.” The book would later be made into a movie by Ron Howard. (By the way, because the book deals with the reality of his youth, there is some rough language in it.)

In his book, Vance details the turmoil and difficulties he had while growing up. He was actually born James Donald Bowman, but his name was changed to James David Hamel after his parents divorced when he was an infant and she later remarried. (Later, as an adult, J. D. would change his last name to Vance, the same as his grandparents.)

Vance’s mother divorced and remarried several times, providing a very unstable home life for J. D. She also struggled with drug addiction, which made for an even more difficult environment for Vance. While growing up, J. D.’s place of security was with his grandparents, who, while dealing with their own difficulties, did the best they could to provide stability, support, and comfort. Also, his older sister, Lindsey, was a protecting force during those times.

In the book, Vance shares a childhood that, while sometimes had its good times, was often filled with anger, chaos and even violence. After high school, he escaped that environment by joining the Marines and served a tour of duty in Iraq. Afterwards, he went to college on the G.I. Bill, and started the path that leads to this Monday.

Vance also goes deeper in the book into the culture that he was raised. It’s a culture that is hard to escape. It’s not because dreams are shattered, it’s that you’re raised not to dream, but to accept the way things are. Fortunately for Vance, circumstances and those protecting family members helped him achieve dreams he never thought possible.

It’s interesting, that while sharing the environment and the culture he grew up in, Vance never used it as an excuse for some of his own actions of his youth. Vance expresses empathy for those in that environment, but stresses the importance of taking personal responsibility for your life, which may be in spite of the environment around you.

In reading “Hillbilly Elegy” again recently, and seeing how J. D. Vance will now be vice president, two ideas from the book stand out. First, your past environment can affect your present and your future. In the book, Vance shares the scars from his childhood that he has had to deal with, even as an adult. But, second, and more important, your past environment doesn’t have to determine your present and future. If it did, J. D. Vance would probably still be stuck in Middletown, Ohio, doing whatever.

I think it’s good to learn some about J. D. Vance, even if the vice president position is “not worth a bucket of spit.” Remember, he’s next in line.