It has been announced that Ron Howard will be directing and producing a film adaptation of J.D. Vance’s 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.

The coming-of-age story follows Vance’s struggles growing up surrounded by ‘hillbilly culture’ in the Rust Belt of the American Midwest. The book is a two-time bestseller, topping The New York Times list both in August 2016 and January 2017.

Howard will be working in collaboration with fellow Imagine Entertainment partners, co-founder Brian Grazer and president Erica Huggins, though a writer has not yet been decided, Variety reported.

“Hillbilly Elegy is a powerful, true coming-of-age memoir by JD Vance,” Huggins said of the story. “Through the lens of a colourful, chaotic family, and with remarkable compassion and self-awareness, JD has been able to look back on his own upbringing as a ‘hillbilly’ to illuminate the plight of America’s white working class, speaking directly to the turmoil of our current political climate.”