Finding Hope in Hip-Hop

I believe in hip-hop. And being a white girl born and raised in the whitest conditions, it surprises me that I've come to this belief — especially since I used to hate this music. My husband, Adam, would try to play it in his car while we were dating, and I hated it so much that I would give him the silent treatment.

But nine months after we married, Adam was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. To take care of him, I dropped out of college to work a factory job that provides mental health insurance coverage. My American dreams of an education, job, house and kids dissolved. My working-class life began.