Beth Macy’s new book, “Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America,” brought back memories of some heated conversations in a Hector men’s group during the early years of the first Trump term in office.

While most in the group were grousing about Trump’s actions, one amigo reminded us about the complaints and worries voiced by the disgruntled voters who had been crucial to Trump’s election. Their gripes were very real, he argued, and should not be dismissed.

He was more right than the rest of us wanted to believe. The stories and family interactions Macy writes about with voters from her hometown of Urbana, Ohio, reveal a lot about why most of the nation remains “fractured.”

What happened in Urbana, Ohio, has occurred across much of the United States, causing vibrant communities to gradually lose healthy economies, fostering a decline in educational opportunities and schools, and eroding many people’s positive outlook for the future.

In Jamestown in the 1960s, I watched factories close down for good almost overnight. One........

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