"It’s not just fighting. By almost any measure, American working class families experience a level of instability unseen elsewhere in the world. Consider for instance, mom’s revolving door of father figures. No other country experiences anything like this. In France, the percentage of children exposed to three or more maternal partners is .5%-about one in 200.

The second highest share is 2.6% in Sweden, or about one in 40.

In the United States, the figure is a shocking 8.2%, about one in 12. And the figure is even higher in the working class."

A lot of self-improvement obstacles include overcoming the emotional impacts as a result of a bad childhood.

In this book, about a young man who manages to escape American Appalachian poverty and succeeds in having a successful life, the author explains that it is hard to draw a line at which empathy ends and personal accountability for your actions begin.

This book resonated with me and almost had me in tears while I listened to it on the treadmill.

I shared the same experience with the author. I, too, grew up in Appalachia's rust belt and faced similar circumstances with the author:

-Unhinged single mother and her revolving partners

-Absent father

-Lived in poverty

-Joined the military to escape and get an education

-Felt awkward learning to adjust to a new social class and harboring bitterness

I overcame a lot, but I realized in my 20s I did engage in bad decisions because I would use my negative experiences as a child as a crutch for my entitlement. I was also very ashamed about my upbringing, but now I have realized talking about it is not that bad and people don't judge or pick on me.

So, anyhow, I recommend this book to any of you who have overcome/are trying to overcome poverty and instability at home. You won't feel so alone.