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Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream | 
 enlarge | Author: Adam W. Shepard
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.27
You Save: $8.68 (44%)
New (41) Used (8) from $11.27
Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 15172
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 0061714364
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.5092
EAN: 9780061714368
ASIN: 0061714364
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Adam Shepard graduated from college in the summer of 2006 feeling disillusioned by the apathy he saw around him and incensed after reading Barbara Ehrenreich's famous works Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch—books that gave him a feeling of hopelessness over the state of the working class in America. Eager to see if he could make something out of nothing, he set out to prove wrong Ehrenreich's theory that those who start at the bottom stay at the bottom, and to see if the American Dream can still be a reality. Shepard's plan was simple. Carrying only a sleeping bag, the clothes on his back, and $25 in cash, and restricted from using previous contacts or relying on his college education, he set out for a randomly selected city with one objective: 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. But from the start, things didn't go as smoothly as Shepard had planned. Working his way up from a Charleston, South Carolina homeless shelter proved to be more difficult than he anticipated, with pressure to take low-paying, exploitive jobs from labor companies, and a job market that didn't respond with enthusiasm to homeless applicants. Shepard even began donating plasma to make fast cash. To his surprise, he found himself depending most on fellow shelter residents for inspiration and advice. Earnest, passionate, and hard to put down, Scratch Beginnings is a story that will not only inspire readers, but will also remind them that success can come to anyone who is willing to work hard—and that America is still one of the most hopeful and inspiring countries in the world.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 57 more reviews...
Fascinating description by a brave writer - 5 stars December 28, 2008
Lesley Workman
Actually I give this five stars (can't figure how to edit that)
Motivated by what one can only assume is genuine social compassion, this courageous author decided to leave the comforts of his college education and middle-class lifestyle behind to experience life as a homeless man. In this clever (and challenging) social experiment, Shepard experiences all the trials and tribulations of the most challenged members of society. His unbridled optimism and sheer force of will as he lives his self-designed experiment are incredibly inspiring, and the details keep the reader turning pages until the story ends (and wondering what happens afterward).
An Excellent Case Study in Poverty! December 23, 2008
Nyghtewynd (St. Louis, MO)
Shepard produces a very interesting read (for the most part) out of what is a typical do-it-yourself story: could an average guy make it when starting as broke and homeless? The answer, it turns out, is yes. Shepard never denies his inherent advantages of education and common sense, but the story of his progression is still interesting. It's true that the book slows near the end; however, this shouldn't be a surprise. As Shepard gets a job and house, his life begins to resemble our own lives, and that's just not that exciting. Still, the first two-thirds provides a lot of material for reflection, and therefore it's worth a lot. Worth your time.
 Months Later this Book is Still Sticking With Me December 21, 2008
Jennifer (Connecticut, USA)
The book opens with a page upon which Adam Shepherd offers a couple of disclaimers. The first is the use of profanity. He said that he considered censoring the language to give it wider appeal, but he said it would take away from an accurate portrayal of the people he met. There is some strong language used in a few scenes, but I think given the subject matter, it's not overused at all.
The second is that he's not recommending his course of action he took by immersing himself in this world. In other words, "Don't try this at home."
Then in the prologue he says that he's not aspiring to great writing, but just telling his story, and the story of those he met. I don't agree. Adam Shepherd tells the story, and tells it well.
He has a very definite audience in mind -- teens who feel adrift and parents of teens and young adults who lack motivation. He wants his book to serve as an encouragement to those who feel stuck. He offers up his own conclusion at the end about why Americans aren't succeeding any more. It's not because there isn't opportunity, it's because they don't have a plan.
I really enjoyed this book, and if you're interested in social causes, poverty in America, or the mentality of Generation X (Y?), I think you'd like it too.
After reading it months ago, it's still sticking with me. Shepherd made his point perfectly -- that the "American Dream" is still out there and available to those who are willing to work for it, though it's not necessarily easy or the route that all end up choosing.
 "White Educated Males Can Make it in America" is a more fitting title December 10, 2008
Matthew E. Brophy (minneapolis)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book embodies the worst kind of reasoning: that because the author can "make it" from scratch, anyone can. It's positive message of "The American Dream is possible" casts the deliberate but unspoken shadow: The poor deserve what they have, and are just lazy.
An educated, white male can make $5,000 in a year from scratch? Does this truly verify that the American Dream is possible? The author has no dependents, is able-bodied, and articulate. The book ignores very relevant factors: race, gender, education, starting-place, able-bodiness, psychology, etc. For example, sure the author doesn't list his education on his job applications, but he still is educated -- and that comes through (i.e., in his video plug, he's quite articulate/charismatic). And starting from "scratch" is not how the poor usually are situated: they typically have strikes against them (i.e., dependents whether spouse, children, or family members).
If this book is read as an "On the Road" Keuroac-ian homage, then it's fine. But as a response to Nickel-and-Dimed, or any empirical studies regarding upward socio-economic mobility, it fails from scratch.
Learning How Others Cope and Struggle November 30, 2008
Scot Guenter (San Jose, CA USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I liked the premise of this book: Adam Shepard, a recent college graduate, who comes from a background of some privilege, decides to take only a sleeping bag and $25, chooses a city at random in the southeast of the United States, and sets off on a quest: he wants to see if it is possible to start with next to nothing and within a year achieve the goal of owning a working automobile, a furnished apartment, and at least $2500 in savings.
Some of his initial assumptions troubled me. He said the motivation of his social experiment was his rejection of Barbara Ehrenreich's arguments in "Nickel and Dimed" and "Bait and Switch," which he unfairly reduced and summarized as "working stiffs are doomed to live in the same disgraceful conditions forever," because "hard work and discipline" are "futile pursuits." Ehrenreich was critiquing the disadvantages the working poor and the middle class must suffer under crony corporate capitalism in the Bush years; to be fair to her, she had high admiration and regard for those who worked hard struggling to make ends meet, and she called for a change in how our economic system works. Part of Shepard's argument seems to be, "see, if I can do it, anybody else can do it too." At the beginning of the book, he sees his own perspective, advantages, and life experience as the norm. He is an educated white male athlete, strong, in his early 20s, who was raised in a nice suburb and is very healthy. He says he identifies with no political group, and believes therefore his approach and analysis will be free of bias.
There is a strong self-assuredness here that is both a folly and strength of youth. As his adventure unfolds, he will discover that he is naive about some things, but wisely seeks to learn how to function in any new social group by observing, gaining acceptance from its members, and seeking their counsel. We journey along with him as he learns how to get by living in a homeless shelter and struggles through different temporary employments. Eventually he finds a steady position as a moving man, but he must learn to negotiate the rules and practices of that new profession. He also works through getting an apartment with a roommate from a different socio-economic background, an interesting character that has a different lifestyle and mindset.
In the end Shepard succeeds in reaching his financial goal but must stop the exercise early due to needs of others he recognizes that are greater than his own. This is a sign of some maturity and sensitivity he gains in this process. The book is most interesting as we watch him struggle to understand the ways others see the world and work through how and why he can learn from these encounters. Along with excellent budgeting strategies he does pick up some wisdom along the way, which he reviews in his conclusion.
The book was written before the great Financial Crisis that hit in George W. Bush's final months. During the tough times that lie ahead, Shepard's calls for frugality, community service, and a better support system for the working poor are timely, sound advice for both the U.S. government and its citizens. I do wish, though, that someone at his private college would have taught him to stop using the word I in the objective case, as in "she gave it to him and I" when the correct form is "me." (Someone should have alerted his editors at HarperCollins too.) The rest of his writing was good enough that this recurring error really stood out. Slang and dialect I don't mind, and one should use the accepted form in whatever social situation one is in, as Shepard learns to do while at the shelter or hanging with his new pals--well, the accepted form in the objective case in written English remains "me."
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