by Jeff Hobbs
First published 2025
Janet Romero works full time as a waitress in Los Angeles but cannot afford housing for her six children. Domestic violence and poverty forced them onto the streets in 2018. Janet avoids the family crisis network because it might separate her children or pull them from decent schools. For five years, the family sleeps in motels and cars while Janet struggles to provide stability and education. She fears her abusive ex and the child welfare system equally. Janet meets Wendi Gaines, a social worker who survived her own housing crisis decades earlier. Wendi takes Janet as one of her first clients. Their relationship changes both women. The story unfolds through the voices of Janet, Wendi, and Janet's teenage son Tyson. Jeff Hobbs reveals how a mother's determination confronts America's housing crisis and the systems meant to help families in need.
Genres: domestic-fiction, contemporary, social-issues, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, social-justice
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 2018
336 pages · Hardcover · Scribner
Content warnings: domestic-violence