Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, And The Search For The American Dream

By: Adam W. Shepard

A young man sets out to prove the American Dream is alive and well in this memoir of homelessness, grit, and perseverance.

Buy This Book

Book Description

A young man sets out to prove the American Dream is alive and well in this memoir of homelessness, grit, and perseverance.

After reading Barbara Ehrenreich's influential book, Nickel and Dimed, Adam Shepard felt discouraged by its hopeless view of American opportunity. 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.

Buy This Book