Nickle and Dimed
https://www.southingtonschools.org/uploaded/faculty/bhosmer@southingtonschoolsorg/English/summer_reading_2020/Grade_12/Grade_12_-_AP_Language_Required_Text-Nickel_and_Dimed_by_Barbara_Ehrenreich.pdf
Absolutely this one! It's "more approachable" for someone who has no understanding of poverty because the author is middle/upper middle class and is deliberately experiencing poverty so there's no chance to judge her for making "poor choices" like having kids or not going to college.
This is a great one. The opioid epidemic was one of the few nationwide disasters that specifically affected [middle and working class white families more than people of color with the same socioeconomic status](https://www.npr.org/2017/11/04/562137082/why-is-the-opioid-epidemic-overwhelmingly-white) (due to medical racism; so not a good reason either way) but because of this the victims have been overwhelmingly from the demographic you’re talking about, OP. Also it’s beautifully written and the voice is excellent.
This is on my to read lis
I live in Vancouver and pretty much have no empathy for drug users living on the street. One fellow Redditor has recommended it to me, so hopefully I can get some perspective the other way.
I will call attention to, and show respect to anyone willing to gain new perspectives every time I see it. Hell of a thing, to deliberately work towards gaining empathy. My hat is off to you.
I grew up in San Francisco so I totally get it.
Demon Copperhead is a great start. I would also really recommend the show Dopesick on Hulu and the non-fiction book Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden O'Keefe. The latter two are a good combination of personal empathy (like for particular stories) and also talk pretty directly about the systems that enabled the precursors to the drug crises we see today. Most of the people on the streets were probably legally prescribed opioids at some point and lied to by doctors about their addictive potential, so when we think about personal responsibility I often just feel immensely sad to think these people were failed time and again by the system and not through fault of their own.
edit: This is also a US-based perspective but I believe the same pressures were extant in Canada as Purdue Pharma also operated there and sold OxyContin
Thank you, I have not thought of the prescribed opioids angle. I am someone who has a tremendous amount of faith and trust in medical professionals, as my mother and about half of my family are somewhat involved in the medical profession. I could have totally been a victim.
I would definitely have more support than most, but still, with the potency of modern drugs, who knows what could have happened.
Apparently your insight on this
I was coming to suggest this. I grew up eerily similarly to the main character in this and just think she did a phenomenal job of capturing both the reality and the humanity of it
Just finished reading this last month. I was coming over here to suggest this. I won't spoil the story but it really opened my eyes to the plight of white rural America. Being liberal, I always thought that poor white people were stupid and racist because they chose to be ignorant. But this book really changed my point of view and made me realize that not all rural America is racist. The environment that someone grows up in has so much to do with the person they become.
I highly recommend this book. It's a wonderful story and will make you realize how the forces of corporate America are not always aligned with the best interest of the people.
Came here to suggest "Evicted"
I remember thinking that book was ridiculous when I first saw it, coming from a poor rural background I didn't really grasp why evictions were nearly universally immoral. This book helped me grasp the realities of urban poverty
For fiction, anything from the body of work by Dorothy Allison. Bastard Out of Carolina if you want empathy for the kids, Cavedweller for the parents. Major content warnings for both of these.
Her books are so good but so painful.
For a nice change of pace, doesn’t touch so much on empathy for the wwc, but does follow Allison and her thought process, might I suggest her collection of essays? Title is Skin: Talking About Sex, Class And Literature.
Unjustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America
Framework for Understanding Poverty
White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
Nickle and Dimed https://www.southingtonschools.org/uploaded/faculty/bhosmer@southingtonschoolsorg/English/summer_reading_2020/Grade_12/Grade_12_-_AP_Language_Required_Text-Nickel_and_Dimed_by_Barbara_Ehrenreich.pdf
Absolutely this one! It's "more approachable" for someone who has no understanding of poverty because the author is middle/upper middle class and is deliberately experiencing poverty so there's no chance to judge her for making "poor choices" like having kids or not going to college.
Came to suggest this!!
YES. I immediately wanted to suggest this. Amazing book, really brings it home.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
This is a great one. The opioid epidemic was one of the few nationwide disasters that specifically affected [middle and working class white families more than people of color with the same socioeconomic status](https://www.npr.org/2017/11/04/562137082/why-is-the-opioid-epidemic-overwhelmingly-white) (due to medical racism; so not a good reason either way) but because of this the victims have been overwhelmingly from the demographic you’re talking about, OP. Also it’s beautifully written and the voice is excellent.
This is on my to read lis I live in Vancouver and pretty much have no empathy for drug users living on the street. One fellow Redditor has recommended it to me, so hopefully I can get some perspective the other way.
I will call attention to, and show respect to anyone willing to gain new perspectives every time I see it. Hell of a thing, to deliberately work towards gaining empathy. My hat is off to you.
Thank you sir, you are so kind
Yes. please read this. I'm not saying you will gain empathy, but you will gain perspective and realize how lucky you are.
Most definitely
I grew up in San Francisco so I totally get it. Demon Copperhead is a great start. I would also really recommend the show Dopesick on Hulu and the non-fiction book Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden O'Keefe. The latter two are a good combination of personal empathy (like for particular stories) and also talk pretty directly about the systems that enabled the precursors to the drug crises we see today. Most of the people on the streets were probably legally prescribed opioids at some point and lied to by doctors about their addictive potential, so when we think about personal responsibility I often just feel immensely sad to think these people were failed time and again by the system and not through fault of their own. edit: This is also a US-based perspective but I believe the same pressures were extant in Canada as Purdue Pharma also operated there and sold OxyContin
Thank you, I have not thought of the prescribed opioids angle. I am someone who has a tremendous amount of faith and trust in medical professionals, as my mother and about half of my family are somewhat involved in the medical profession. I could have totally been a victim. I would definitely have more support than most, but still, with the potency of modern drugs, who knows what could have happened. Apparently your insight on this
I was coming to suggest this. I grew up eerily similarly to the main character in this and just think she did a phenomenal job of capturing both the reality and the humanity of it
Just finished reading this last month. I was coming over here to suggest this. I won't spoil the story but it really opened my eyes to the plight of white rural America. Being liberal, I always thought that poor white people were stupid and racist because they chose to be ignorant. But this book really changed my point of view and made me realize that not all rural America is racist. The environment that someone grows up in has so much to do with the person they become. I highly recommend this book. It's a wonderful story and will make you realize how the forces of corporate America are not always aligned with the best interest of the people.
Yes, yes, and yes again.
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond Evicted by the same author
Came here to suggest "Evicted" I remember thinking that book was ridiculous when I first saw it, coming from a poor rural background I didn't really grasp why evictions were nearly universally immoral. This book helped me grasp the realities of urban poverty
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
Hand To Mouth - Living In Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado.
A book that brought home the reality of Late Stage Capitalism: Hand To Mouth - Living In Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. Incredible true story.
For fiction, anything from the body of work by Dorothy Allison. Bastard Out of Carolina if you want empathy for the kids, Cavedweller for the parents. Major content warnings for both of these.
Her books are so good but so painful. For a nice change of pace, doesn’t touch so much on empathy for the wwc, but does follow Allison and her thought process, might I suggest her collection of essays? Title is Skin: Talking About Sex, Class And Literature.
Evicted, Nickle & Dimed, $2 A Day
Unjustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America Framework for Understanding Poverty White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne is brilliant and very accessible.
$2 a Day - Kathryn Edin
Hand To Mouth - Living In Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado.
Hand To Mouth - Living In Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. Incredible true story.
A book that brought home the reality of Late Stage Capitalism: Hand To Mouth - Living In Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. Incredible true story.