221 pages

Ok, I readily admit that I was supposed to be reading the books that I have listed in my sidebar. But I made a trip to the library and got waylaid by this particular title.  I had heard about it and I was interested in it but I didn’t expect that my library would get it in so fast when I placed the hold. Oh darn, I have an amazing library system. Cursed, I know.

A couple of years ago(before I had a blog) I read Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. While I learned a lot from that book and I enjoyed Ehrenreich’s sense of humor quite a bit, I was left feeling sad and a little irritated at the premise that the American Dream is dead.

Apparently, I am not the only one who felt this way because Scratch Beginnings is in Adam Shepard’s own words:

Socioeconomically speaking, my story is a rebuttal to Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch, the books that speak to the death of the American Dream. With investigative projects of her own, Ehrenreich attempted to establish that working stiffs are doomed to live in the same disgraceful conditions forever. I resent that theory, and my story is a search to evaluate if hard work and discipline provide any payoff whatsoever or if they are, as Eherenreich suggests, futile pursuits.

- Scratch Beginnings pg XV, Introduction

Adam Shepard’s story begins after he has graduated college. He is frustrated by what he sees around him: lack of initiative, whining, entitlement mentality, and reminiscing about the “good ole days”. So he decides to do a test. Armed with only $25, an 8′X10′ tarp, an empty gym bag and the clothes he is wearing he travels to a random city(name drawn from a hat) by train. He is not allowed to use his college education or personal contacts to advance himself in any way and he a goal for himself. Within a year, he must move from homelessness into a productive member of society as defined by: having an operable vehicle, a furnished apartment, $2500 in cash and be in a position to continue improving his position either by going to college or starting his own business.

There are a lot of things to be learned both from Ehrenreich’s book and Scratch Beginnings. For someone like me who grew up in a stable, suburban home, both Nickel and Dimed and The Invisible Poor by David K. Shipler can go a long way toward educating us about the difficulties that are out there. The playing field is definitely not level: that is to say that not everyone starts out with the same advantages. But Scratch Beginnings reminds us that no matter where you start out, there comes a time when you must accept responsibility for your own life. As stated by Leo, one of the guys that Adam meets during his 70 day stay in the homeless shelter:

Some of the people in the lower class start out behind. We all have the same freedoms, true, but those of us born into poverty don’t necessarily have the guidance.

But I’ll tell you this. There comes a time for everybody that it’s time to grow up. I mean, look at me. I came from a broken home. Mama’s got six kids. No daddy. Maybe the lights will turn on today; maybe not. Eatin’ mayonnaise and pickle sandwiches. I started out less fortunate than most people, and I lived my life accordingly. Streets, drugs, violence…all that. But then I turned twenty and realized that it was time to shape up or dead just like everybody else I knew.

- Scratch Beginnings, pgs 102-103

I highly recommend reading Nickel and Dimed and The Invisible Poor to compliment this book. They offer more information on the adversities but they are less hopeful.

For that reason, I loved Scratch Beginnings. I think it presents a balanced perspective between understanding the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves and the adversities that must be overcome, understanding personal responsibility and holding out hope that hard work and perseverance are not vain pursuits. (5/5)

Audiobook

I had only a meager understanding about what has gone on in Darfur when I read The Translator by Daoud Hari. It’s not a pleasant topic but it is one that everyone should be aware of.

On the same topic, this book deals with the atrocities witnessed by Brian Steidle as he served on the Joint Military Commission monitoring the Sudanese ceasefire and his frustration that no one seems to care.

This book did not give a lot of the political and social information behind the conflict which could have been valuable but there are other resources available that can do that. Steidle’s eye-witness accounts of what he saw are both horrific and gripping and I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the crisis in Darfur.(4/5)

For many more resources including the names of books, videos and organizations that can help please visit Natasha at Maw Books.

I had intended to post on this last week but since the business of losing my blog, I got lost in all of that. THIS is truly important though.

Natasha at Maw Books is hosting a campaign to raise awareness and funds for the suffering people of Darfur. If you click on the button, you will be taken to a post that outlines the simple things that we can do to help out.

Since I read The Translator by Daoud Hari earlier this year, I need no convincing that this is a very worthwhile campaign. Here’s how I plan to help out:

1. Read Not On Our Watch by Don Cheadle
2. Listen to the audiobook of The Devil Came on Horseback by Brian Steidle
3. Visit and comment on Natasha’s blog as much as possible during the month of September.

There are several more ways that you can commit to helping or just educate yourself about the people of Darfur. Please click on the button and check it out!

Barbara Kingsolver

379 pages

Do you know what a CAFO is? I confess that I did. I learned it from reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan but I did not know what a locavore was or that it was chosen as 2007’s word of the year by The New Oxford American Dictionary. I also had no clue what the 100 Mile Diet was. Though in retrospect, it should be pretty easy to figure out.

I have been fascinated with the subject of additives to our foods and a more natural way of eating for quite some time. That is what lead me to read books on the subject. With this book, Barbara Kingsolver has written in a fascinating and approachable way about what it means to really know your food sources. However, it’s about more than just that. It’s about working for and truly enjoying your food, not just settling for the closest and fastest thing available. It’s about being connected to the community that labors together to produce, savoring the best that the seasons have to offer and not taking it all for granted.

There are recipes, informative sidebars written by her husband, Steven Hopp, and sections by her daughter Camille that share a young person’s perspective on being raised and living this way. In fact, the best parts of the book for me were about how this all tied in as a family experience. Everyone does their part and enjoys gathering together to perform the work, however difficult it is, as well as reap the benefits.

Through reading this book, I realized that I was raised this way in small part. My parents always gardened, put up what they could to last through the winter, always hit the local farmer’s roadside stands to enjoy the bounty of fresh produce when it was in season. My husband’s parents even raised their own cows, dairy goats, chickens plus had a huge garden. All the time we thought they were old-fashioned. Now they are trendy and I want to be like them when I grow up!

There were some areas where I didn’t agree with the author due to philosophical differences but, overall, I loved this book! (4.5/5)