I, like Adam, came from a good middle class upbringing. At age 41 now, I am at the mid-point of a fantastic career that I had to build for myself. No, I did not submit myself to the trials that Adam did, but he does all hard working and forward thinking people a service by SHOWING what anyone is capable of if they choose to focus their minds and forge ahead.

Bravo to Adam Shepard for his honesty and tenacity. He deserves all the success in the world.

I am avoiding confronting the idea of “Bias” in his book. Far more vehemently than Ehrenreich, Shepard makes no claims about the validity of his claims. This is not a work of social research, and for him to broach the issue of gender or race or class or physical or mental status and privilege- It’s just not possible to take a single experience and call it “data.” He makes no claims other than that it is possible to accomplish what he did.

It would have strayed far outside the realm of his book to introduce issues of child support, because I believe he had very little interactions with women during this time. It might have been possible to delve into race relations, and very feasible to talk about socio-economic class differences, because he could have contrasted his experiences with those of others he was dealing with. But he chose not to, in order to stay close to his “adventure” narrative.

I think it is important to judge the text for what it is, rather than what it might have covered.

I appreciate your approach to the review. I thought Ehrenreich was less critical of her own behaviors than she might have been, but having known poor people since my childhood in rural Arkansas, California and Florida, I am aware of the many pitfalls that interfere with financial progress. For women particularly who have the misfortune of bearing a child by a man who won’t support her or the child, the path to economic and social success is rigorous. However, neither Ehrenreich nor Shepard had these additional burdens…

If you have a link to a free digital copy of the book, let me know — or even a place to buy the digital book.

I salute you for putting your money where your mouth is, and making the book available as a free download. I think that underscores your point as much as anything else you’ve done.

I work in a bookstore in a college town, and “Nickel and Dimed” is often used for course material. I will recommend your book as an addition or counterpoint to hers, as I think it provides a good beginning for discussion.

I look forward to hearing of your future endeavors, and please tell your publisher to keep me in mind for other promising new authors like you.

Well, I gotta say thank you very much for taking the time to review my book. Your review is generous, of course, but very fair. After all, you’re right that this book is not the classic work of literature that it was never meant to be, and, moreover, it certainly could have been developed more at certain points (injuries, the ending). Different reviewers were crying out for different things, and, in the end, I felt most comfortable, as you say, just telling a simplistic story as if I “were talking to you.”

There’s plenty of praise and plenty of criticism to be had for this book. In the end, the bottom line is that this is my story, and the story of those that I meet along the way, a mere adventurous story of a kid out discovering a new world that I had previously only observed from afar. In the end, regardless of book sales or who reads it, it was the greatest learning experience of my life.

Thanks again for taking the time to read it.

Adam