Racism, inequality, prejudice, cultural background, stereotypes, trials, discrimination, a small list of difficulties that both JD Vance and Ta-Nehisi Coates had to endure course of their lives. Some of these still haunt them today, but they don't let that stop them as they strive to educate others. The books they wrote, Hillbilly Elegy and Between the World and Me, respectively, function as letters, memoirs, for their prodigy, both blood and reader. From the day they were born, to this day, and even beyond, both Coates and Vance have faced hardships that have shaped them into the respectable men they are today. No matter the education received, the empathy that both authors convey through their experiences is true in every person's life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Each of them grew up in similar, but different communities, where the biggest difference between the two were ideas of race and financial position. Coates grew up seeing the effects of racism on his community for decades, while Vance grew up with the ideology of a "hillbilly" who is a "lower class" individual inclined to a certain lifestyle. As a child, Coates' father always wanted the best for him, even considering the harsh effects of racism on his family and those close to him. As such, each of them had to move forward, to progress beyond the confines of the situations in which they grew up. In a CBS News article, it is said that Ta-Nehisi's father, Paul, took young Ta-Nehisi to work at Howard University, so that Ta-Nehisi could surround himself with books to improve his life. Paul Coates told the interviewer: “I wanted him to come back and understand that he wasn't separate from his community. That his successes could only be the successes of his community, and that his community was in fact his lifeblood.” These words ring true when looking back at Ta-Nehisi's childhood. Although oppressed by the raging fire of racism, he burned with his own passion, continually ignited by his father. Every situation that arose around him fueled his personal fire when it came to identifying the effects of “white supremacy” and the harmful effects it had on the African American community. Throughout his youth, Coates was on his guard, as he had before. he learned that the police had been "gifted with the authority to destroy your body", an information he passed on to his son. He has heard of many examples of police brutality, from early racism, to the killing of Michael Brown, to Prince Jones, acts that are lost to the world, things that are lost with the passage of time. He ingrained these memories in his body and immortalized them in his works. While times have changed and it is illegal to do so, a number of officers use poor judgment, use unnecessary force, and abuse their power to do exactly that. Coates wanted to make sure his readers and his son never forgot this. Coates had to take to heart the idea that the police were "endowed with the authority to destroy your body," as his father reminded him through punishments when he acted "out of line" at any time. While J.D. Vance hasn't experienced bouts with racism, he has had many of his own trials, having grown up in Appalachia. Growing up, Vance had to try hard in school, as his home life was not ideal. He got a lot of help from his sister and grandparents. This lasted his entire life, until both of his grandfathers died. His mother, on the other hand, wasn't much of a mother to him, given that he hadlots of drug problems and it really showed. She would use it to falsify drug tests, giving the false promise that she would stop and get clean. The violence and negativity Vance endured at home also made it difficult for him to study, but it didn't stop him. In his TED Talk, Vance briefly recounts his life growing up in Appalachia. He talked about how he was almost expected to fall into the same path that those around him were following. He broke out of that mold that had been created in the minds of his community. He graduated from high school, college, law school and made a name for himself doing so. This is not to say that his community did not provide him with some type of knowledge or assistance. He said the "social capital" he gained was "not built for 21st century America..." He learned how to shoot a gun, how to make a "damn good cookie" among other skills he didn't they are widely taught in American schools. .In his youth, Vance grew up with several examples of childhood trauma, similar to Coates', but unique due to the area in which he grew up. Vance's mother was a drug addict who became violent when things didn't go her way. However, when he wasn't shooting himself or taking pills, he was pushing Vance to do better in school, to do something of his own. A big difference from how she would normally act around Vance or her sister. According to statistics, those who encountered these forms of childhood trauma were more likely to repeat the same acts with their children that they had experienced alone. Both Vance and Coates experienced their own versions of childhood trauma, but both overcame their circumstances, transforming into the best versions of themselves possible. Both aimed to inspire the American people with the telling of their lives and the true personalization of many of society's mistakes. For Coates, it was, and still is, the racism he experienced in his hometown and in every city he has lived in. The brutal actions of the police that are ignored by many, due to the stereotype of African Americans being "good for nothing" who only seek to do harm or steal. For Vance it is because he grew up in a low-income family. people who come from that background weren't destined to really get anywhere in life, as they were statistically more inclined to stick to the same routine their predecessors were in. For each of them, dealing with childhood trauma was a different method .Coates noticed and complained about it, improving himself. He offered no ideas or methods by which anyone could address the issues at hand. His self-improvement got him into the future he wanted, even though he wanted something better for his son . He focused on whether his son should improve his own situation, rather than expecting everything around him to change to his advantage. Vance, on the other hand, proposed several methods by which one could change one's future for the better. His mother was a drug addict prone to violence, but he persevered, with the help of his grandmother and sister, to finish high school, go to college, go to Yale, and improve his situation. Vance was direct in talking about the methods by which he improved his life, and from these methods one can derive one's own meticulous methods of improvement. Each of these men was able to attribute their growth in life to different people they came through. For Coates, it was his father and many of his friends he had met both in the United States and abroad. His wife was also there, who helped him be a better version of himself.