First published 2025
A troubling contradiction defines modern America: families with full-time employment cannot afford housing. Brian Goldstone investigates this crisis through five Atlanta families caught in the grip of the "working homeless" phenomenon. Maurice and Natalia relocate to the Black Mecca after Washington DC prices them out. Kara mops hospital floors while planning her cleaning business. Britt secures a housing voucher. Michelle studies social work. Celeste works warehouse shifts during cancer treatment. Each parent works to build a decent life for their children, yet one by one they lose their homes. Goldstone follows these families as they sleep in cars and cheap motels, then report to work and school each morning. His reporting reveals how rapid urban growth and gentrification create homelessness even during economic prosperity. The book exposes a hidden population absent from official counts and demonstrates that visible street homelessness represents only a fraction of the true crisis.
Genres: american, sociology, social-issues, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: compassionate, eye-opening, intimate, thought-provoking, urgent
Tropes: multiple-perspectives, narrative-non-fiction, systemic-critique
Setting: Atlanta, Washington DC, America
Period: 21st century, contemporary
449 pages · Paperback · Crown