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"I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time. Well, not this book, because I never imagined that the book I was waiting for would be so devastatingly smart and funny, so consistently entertaining and unflinchingly on target. In fact, I would like to have written it myself if, that is, I had lived Linda Tirado’s life and extracted all the hard lessons she has learned. I am the author of Nickel and Dimed, which tells the story of my own brief attempt, as a semi-undercover journalist, to survive on low-wage retail and service jobs. Tirado is the real thing."
—from the foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed
We in America have certain ideas of what it means to be poor. Linda Tirado, in her signature brutally honest yet personable voice, takes all of these preconceived notions and smashes them to bits. She articulates not only what it is to be working poor in America (yes, you can be poor and live in a house and have a job, even two), but what poverty is truly like—on all levels.
In her thought-provoking voice, Tirado discusses how she went from lower-middle class, to sometimes middle class, to poor and everything in between, and in doing so reveals why “poor people don’t always behave the way middle-class America thinks they should.”
Carissa_B
Posted Fri Oct 03 00:00:00 EDT 2014
This is a no holds barred account of one woman's life and viewpoints of living in poverty. She makes sure the reader understands that she, in no way, speaks for people who are poor as a whole, but this is how she personally sees it and what she has personally gone through.
She is blunt. She is honest. Her voice is strong and there is no doubt what her point of view is. Some will most likely find it an uncomfortable read, others will feel unsettled by the language used or the no-nonsense attitude that Tirado takes in this book. It is raw, honest, and thought provoking.
It is something that most of America needs to read. Needs to use to help banish stereotypes and prejudices that they feed into whether on a conscious or unconscious level. Heck, it even points out the gross working conditions that many minimum wage workers are expected to work in and shows just how condescending some people can be. It encourages people to treat others just as they'd want to be treated; to treat others as human beings, as equals, as humans.
A few striking sentences from the book are:
"In short, calling me a meth user because I have bad teeth is about as valid as calling me a genius because I'm a fast reader. (Tirado, 35)"
and
"And next time you feel as though you're shouldering more than your fair share of society's burdens, ask yourself: How badly do I have to pee right now, and do I need permission? (Tirado, 191)"
She is not saying that "rich people" don't have problems or don't hit hardships. No, she points out that because they have money that have the capability to take more things for granted. The ability to fix those problems better or quicker than "poor people" can.
It's an easy read and definitely a book that people should give a chance.
(*Note I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review through Goodreads Early Readers Giveaways.)
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Overview
"I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time. Well, not this book, because I never imagined that the book I was waiting for would be so devastatingly smart and funny, so consistently entertaining and unflinchingly on target. In fact, I would like to have written it myself if, that is, I had lived Linda Tirado’s life and extracted all the hard lessons she has learned. I am the author of Nickel and Dimed, which tells the story of my own brief attempt, as a semi-undercover journalist, to survive on low-wage ...