Reading Geoffrey Himes’s latest book, In-Law Country, brought to mind another of my favorite writers, Malcolm Gladwell.  Gladwell, known for The Tipping Point, Outliers, and other provocative takes on contemporary society, devoted an entire episode of his Revisionist History podcast to, of all things, country music.  He posited that country music, more than any other genre, is best at conveying the profound vulnerability, heartache, grief, and regret that often accompany adulthood.  In a kind of musical cage match of misery, Gladwell pitted two songs about the unexpected death of a loved one against each other to prove his point.

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