Book #11: Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado

This book sounded more promising and interesting than it really was. Tirado writes about what it's like being poor in America, and explains some of her experiences working low-paying jobs and living paycheck to paycheck, and not being able to make ends meet. She writes about the problems with not being able to afford healthcare (either preventative or maintenance, only in emergencies would they go to a doctor or hospital), like how she is losing all her teeth because of a car accident she was in and she couldn't afford to get it taken care of at the time. She writes about the lack of respect you get working in the service industry and how obnoxious it is. She writes about the logistical struggles of working multiple jobs and having those schedules overlap and trying to make enough to bring home money to pay for rent, etc. Everything she writes about rings true and yes, sounds horrible. I am well aware of how privileged I am--even more so after reading her book. I can't honestly imagine losing a car because it got towed and I couldn't afford to pay a couple hundred dollars to get it out. I think that is the main benefit/positive aspect of this book--how it raises awareness of privilege in the audience of wealthier Americans. However, she is so bitter and angry about it as she writes that it's hard to see who her audience is. She's obviously writing FOR richer Americans, but she spends all her time making fun of them and cussing at them and telling them sarcastically not to expect good service. I thought she was refreshingly honest about her bad decisions that brought her to poverty, but she also obviously had bad luck (like a flood in their apartment that eventually got them evicted, etc.). While she said many times "This is just me, I'm not speaking for everyone," the way she talked made it seem like she WAS trying to talk for all poor people and say that most of them feel the way she does and struggle the same way.

Overall, there were some great points in the book and I can definitely see it being useful. But her overall angst and attitude made it annoying to read after a while, plus, she used the f-word maybe every other page. I'm glad I read it instead of listened to it, because then I could speed through the parts that were repetitive and annoying. It was a very quick read, which was good. It didn't deserve more energy than the few hours it took to get through.