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
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Book Summary Information

Author: Adam W. Shepard
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-14
ISBN: 0061714364
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Harper

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

Book Review: This Guy Has Guts!
Summary: 5 Stars

When I first read the summary of this book, I was intrigued. It's written by a young man (probably in his early to mid 20's) who had just graduated from Amherst College who decided to do a one-year experiment. Rather than call it "Rags to Riches" he preferred to call it "Rags to Fancier Rags." He wanted to see if the American Dream was still alive or if it had been choked out of our culture.

Adam began his experiment by going to Charleston, South Carolina with $25 and a gym bag with some personal items. The first thing he did was to locate and check in at Crisis Ministries, a homeless shelter. The story of his sign-in and orientation to the shelter alone was fascinating reading. Adam jumped right into it and got a first hand education on life in a shelter. He worked day labor jobs and got other jobs from agencies. He also learned about outreaches from local churches and about how many of the residents benefited from them - and surprisingly, how many of them DIDN'T, largely based on their personal choices. Adam even donated blood.

He made new friendships and got a good, close look at how the poor lived. He eventually got a job at a furniture moving company and eventually moved from the shelter into a somewhat crummy apartment - and then later moved to a better one. He got a firsthand look at the life of the so-called "working class," and learned to respect them very much.

Of course, there's a lot more drama than I am mentioning here. And as I read this book, I developed a deep respect and genuine liking for this young man. I must politely disagree with those who say that a white male can't really have a "feeling" for the plight of the poor. Adam was willing to put himself right into the middle of it all. And some of the poor were white males! (Poverty happens to them, too).

In the last chapter he shared insights he learned. Since I've read (and still read) a lot of business and personal self-help books, I had read many of these insights in other books. But it impressed me that he made these discoveries himself and developed these insights at a young age (I learned them much later in life). Perhaps the observation I most appreciated was when he stated that while there were answers, they were more complex than the political right/left would have us believe, and that when all is said and done, personal responsibility reigns supreme.

At this point, I don't know what Adam Shepard is doing now, but whatever he is doing or does, I hope he won't stop writing! Adam, may you write many more books of this caliber!

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.

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