Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream
by Adam W. Shepard

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream
List Price: $19.95
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Buy Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Adam W. Shepard
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-01
ISBN: 0061714364
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Harper
Product features:

Book Reviews of Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream

Book Review: Really great story of getting on your feet financially!
Summary: 5 Stars

Excerpt from my original review at [...]:

When you think you have it rough, remember someone out there always has it worse. That's the message Scratch Beginnings: Me, 25 Dollars and the Search for the American Dream delivers. While most recent college grads are out starting their careers and partying on the weekends, Adam Shepard chose a dramatically different route.

I really enjoyed this book; I read through it in about 3 nights before bed. Adam glamorized nothing about his journey and it made me think twice when I complain about situations in my life. Some critics have argued that Adam wasn't really homeless and this book was an affront to those that are. They also said that he was taking up a spot from someone that really needed it just for the sake of selling books. Whether he was or wasn't, for the time he was in the shelter, he was indeed homeless. From what I gather, there was still room on the floor for another if needed. Could Adam have quit anytime and went home to his parents? Yes, I suppose he could have. There certainly would've been a lot easier ways to make a buck. But he didn't. And that's the point, he saw the journey through when most would've bailed.

Summary of Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream

Adam Shepard graduated from college in the summer of 2006 feeling disillusioned by the apathy he saw around him and incensed after reading Barbara Ehrenreich's famous works Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch-books that gave him a feeling of hopelessness over the state of the working class in America. Eager to see if he could make something out of nothing, he set out to prove wrong Ehrenreich's theory that those who start at the bottom stay at the bottom, and to see if the American Dream can still be a reality.

Shepard's plan was simple. Carrying only a sleeping bag, the clothes on his back, and $25 in cash, and restricted from using previous contacts or relying on his college education, he set out for a randomly selected city with one objective: 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.

But from the start, things didn't go as smoothly as Shepard had planned. Working his way up from a Charleston, South Carolina homeless shelter proved to be more difficult than he anticipated, with pressure to take low-paying, exploitive jobs from labor companies, and a job market that didn't respond with enthusiasm to homeless applicants. Shepard even began donating plasma to make fast cash. To his surprise, he found himself depending most on fellow shelter residents for inspiration and advice.

Earnest, passionate, and hard to put down, Scratch Beginnings is a story that 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 and inspiring countries in the world.

Memoirs Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in What they had to do to make a buck!
Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back ImageSave Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back
by Karyn Bosnak
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2003-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops: $13.95
Confessions of a Serial Egg Donor ImageConfessions of a Serial Egg Donor
by Julia Derek
Adrenaline Books; Published: 2004-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
The Normals ImageThe Normals
by David Gilbert
Faber and Faber; Published: 2005-03-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: $22.70
Geek Love: A Novel ImageGeek Love: A Novel
by Katherine Dunn
Vintage; Published: 2002-06-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.74
Price in other shops: $15.00
Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger) ImageFlowers in the Attic (Dollanganger)
by V.C. Andrews
Pocket; Published: 2005-08-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.11
Price in other shops: $12.00
Mad Money ImageMad Money
Mad; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $2.39
Price in other shops: $14.98
Set It Off (Snap Case) ImageSet It Off (Snap Case)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 1999-09-14; DVD
Best price: $5.76
Price in other shops: $12.98
Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Widescreen Edition) ImageDodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Widescreen Edition)
Release date: 2004-12-07; DVD
Best price: $3.57
Price in other shops: $14.98
Fun with Dick and Jane ImageFun with Dick and Jane
Sony; Release date: 2006-04-11; DVD
Price in other shops: $14.94
Risky Business (25th Anniversary Edition) ImageRisky Business (25th Anniversary Edition)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-09-16; DVD
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops: $19.96
Similar Books and other products
A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture (Globalization and Community) ImageA World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture (Globalization and Community)
by John M. Hagedorn
Univ Of Minnesota Press; Published: 2009-06-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.20
Price in other shops: $18.95
Consuming Life ImageConsuming Life
by Zygmunt Bauman
Polity; Published: 2007-11-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.14
Price in other shops: $19.95
Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream ImageBait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 2006-07-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.34
Price in other shops: $13.00
Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America ImageRachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America
by Jonathan Kozol
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2006-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.01
Price in other shops: $13.95
50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education Image50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education
by Charles J. Sykes
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2007-08-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.18
Price in other shops: $19.95
Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money ImageThou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money
by Rabbi Daniel Lapin
Wiley; Published: 2009-10-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.55
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Purpose-Guided Student: Dream to Succeed ImageThe Purpose-Guided Student: Dream to Succeed
by Jerry Pattengale
Career Education; Published: 2009-02-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.75
Accept No Mediocre Life: Living Beyond Labels, Libels, and Limitations ImageAccept No Mediocre Life: Living Beyond Labels, Libels, and Limitations
by David Foster
FaithWords; Published: 2006-02-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops: $19.99
Starting From Scratch: Secrets from 22 Ordinary People Who Made the Entrepreneurial Leap ImageStarting From Scratch: Secrets from 22 Ordinary People Who Made the Entrepreneurial Leap
by Wes Moss
Kaplan Publishing; Published: 2008-09-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.50
Price in other shops: $22.95
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America ImageNickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich, Frances Fox Piven
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 2008-06-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.76
Price in other shops: $14.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories