Scratch Beginnings

by Shepard, Adam

• ISBN13: 9780061714276
• ISBN10: 0061714275
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

What can you get with $25 and a dream?Adam Shepard graduated from college feeling disillusioned by the apathy around him and was then incensed after reading Barbara Ehrenreich's famous work Nickel and Dimed-a book that gave him 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.Scratch Beginnings is 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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Disclaimer and Author's Notes	p. xi
Introduction July 24-Setting Up	p. xiii
Welcome to Crisis Ministries	p. 1
Easy Labor	p. 15
Another Day, Another Dollar	p. 31
Big Babies	p. 47
Sundays with George	p. 59
Hustle Time	p. 73
Job Hunting 101 with Professor Phil Coleman	p. 85
Put Up or Shut Up	p. 95
"First and Last Day"	p. 105
Adventures in Moving	p. 121
Movin'on up	p. 135
Workers' Consternation	p. 155
Winter with Bubble Gum	p. 169
Culture Shocked	p. 183
Fighting for Respect	p. 195
One Last Move	p. 203
Epilogue: A Year Later: A Didactic Look at What I Learned and Where I Go from Here	p. 211
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