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Scratch beginnings : me, $25, and the search for the American Dream / Adam Shepard.

by Shepard, Adam.

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Harper/HarperCollins, 2010.

Poverty -- United States -- Biography.

Homelessness -- Biography.

Working poor -- United States -- Biography.

Social mobility -- Biography.

Responsibility -- Biography.

9780061714276 (pbk.)

0061714275 (pbk.)

xvi, 221 p. ; 21 cm.

Introduction : July 24-setting up -- Welcome to Crisis Ministries -- EasyLabor -- Another day, another dollar -- Big babies -- Sundays with George -- Hustle time -- Job hunting 101 with Professor Phil Coleman -- Put up or shut up -- "First and last day" -- Adventures in moving -- Movin' on up -- Workers' consternation -- Winter with bubble gum -- Culture shocked -- Fighting for respect -- One last move -- Epilogue : a year later: a didactic look at what I learned and where I go from here.

Barbara Ehrenreich's famous book Nickel and Dimed gave Adam Shepard a feeling of hopelessness about the working class in America. He set out to disprove Ehrenreich's theory - the notion that those who start at the bottom stay at the bottom - by making something out of nothing to achieve the American Dream. Shepard's plan was simple. With a sleeping bag, the clothes on his back, and $25 in cash, and restricted from using his contacts or college education, he headed out for Charleston, South Carolina, a randomly selected city with one objective: to work his way out of homelessness and into a life that would give him the opportunity for success. His goal was to have, after one year, $2,500, a working automobile, and a furnished apartment. The earnest and passionate account of Shepard's struggle to overcome the pressures placed on the homeless. His story will not only inspire readers but will also remind them that success can come to anyone who is willing to work hard - and that America is still one of the most hopeful countries in the world.

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