Nomadland (book)
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| Author | Jessica Bruder |
|---|---|
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | W.W. Norton & Company |
Publication date | September 2017 |
| Awards | Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award |
| ISBN | 978-0-393-24931-6 |
| OCLC | 1010740024 |
Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is a 2017 non-fiction book by American journalist Jessica Bruder about the phenomenon of older Americans who, following the Great Recession, adopted transient lifestyles travelling around the United States in search of seasonal work.[1][2] The book was named a "Notable Book" by the New York Times, was a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award, and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award.[3][4][5] It was adapted into a short documentary film, CamperForce, in which Bruder served as a producer alongside director Brett Story and executive producer Laura Poitras.[6]
In February 2019, Fox Searchlight Pictures announced that the book had been optioned by Frances McDormand and Peter Spears. The subsequent film adapation, also entitled Nomadland, was adapted and directed by Chloé Zhao and premiered in 2020. The film starred McDormand and David Strathairn, alongside Linda May, Charlene Swankie and Bob Wells, the three vandwellers who were featured in the book.[7] The film received critical acclaim, receiving four nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, winning two of them: Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director - Motion Picture for Zhao[8]
References[edit]
- ^ Hochschild, Arlie Russell (2017-11-17). "In 'Nomadland,' the Golden Years Are the Wander Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "Jessica Bruder | School of Journalism". journalism.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "The Bernstein Awards 2018: Meet the Finalists". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ^ "100 Notable Books of 2017". The New York Times. 2017-11-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "Barnes & Noble Announces the Winners of the 27th Annual Discover Awards". Barnes & Noble Inc. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ Dorn, Lori (2017-12-21). "CamperForce, A Sobering Film About Amazon's Recruiting of Retired RV'ers for Seasonal Positions". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2019-02-12). "Chloé Zhao's 'Nomadland' Starring Frances McDormand Lands At Fox Searchlight". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ Lisa Respers France. "Golden Globes 2021: See the full list of nominees". CNN. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
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From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads.
Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy—one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive, but have not given up hope.
Soon to be a major motion picture.
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Product description
Review
"Bruder is a poised and graceful writer."--Parul Sehgal - New York Times
[A] devastating, revelatory book.--Timothy R. Smith - Washington Post
[A] powerhouse of a book. . . . In the best immersive-journalism tradition, Bruder records her misadventures driving and living in a van. . . . Visceral and haunting reporting.--Booklist, starred review
[I]mportant, eye-opening journalism.--Kim Ode - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Some readers will come because they're enamored of road narratives, but Bruder's study should be of interest to anyone who cares about the future of work, community, and retirement.--Peter C. Baker - Pacific Standard
Stunning and beautifully written. . . brilliant and haunting--Arlie Russell Hochschild - New York Times Book Review
You will never forget the people whose stories Bruder tells. Proud, resourceful, screwed-over, funny and in so many ways admirable, the American nomads Bruder lived with and reports on have sometimes lost everything but their bravado . . . . [She] tells their stories with humanity and wit.--Louise Erdrich, author of Future Home of the Living God
About the Author
Jessica Bruder is an award-winning journalist whose work focuses on subcultures and the dark corners of the economy. She has written for Harper's Magazine, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Bruder teaches at the Columbia School of Journalism.
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From Australia
lloyd o edwards
3.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful journalism.
Reviewed in Australia on 15 January 2021
Verified Purchase
Very interesting story but I failed to get a sense of how prevelant this lifestyle is in USA. Still a good expose of how these nomads find employment and how the gig economy prevents the Ametican Dream being realised.
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From other countries
geomcamck
5.0 out of 5 stars The American dream?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 February 2021
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At 66 I've retired and living in Scotland and much as I'd like to visit America I'm glad I haven't had to retire there, this book shows amazing people but I feel they have been let down by their system, as I grow older I'm thankful for our health service and security system with all of their faults is there and I'll never face the challenges of these vandwellers.
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elaine gaber-katz
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is not a glorification of the tiny house movement - Thank goodness!
Reviewed in Canada on 1 March 2019
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Fabulous piece of journalism. Bruder did a great job immersing herself in the "elderly" nomadic culture in US. I learned a lot about the terrible working conditions at Amazon and other seasonal companies who pay low wages and abuse the bodies of the workers. This book reveals the growing chasm between the poor and the wealthy. I highly recommend it.
2 people found this helpful
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JAM
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book.
Reviewed in Canada on 7 November 2019
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One of the best books I have ever read!!!!
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probzelda
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a how to book but how could be the journey
Reviewed in Canada on 17 November 2017
Verified Purchase
Very good book. Not a How to book. But a journey. It made me reflect on what is possible, but having patience is the key.,
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Raffaele
5.0 out of 5 stars Nomadland: Film Tie-In (English Edition)
Reviewed in Italy on 1 February 2021
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The American Dream ??????
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Rachelle Lafreniere
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product
Reviewed in Canada on 30 December 2018
Verified Purchase
great book
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Kathy Gurandiano
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on 14 April 2018
Verified Purchase
Best non fiction book I’ve read in ages I was sorry when it ended
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Wolfgang PiechaAmazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars ... off the track and the RV life is a great way to redemption and a much better life
Reviewed in Canada on 17 December 2017
Verified Purchase
this is a can't put down story of way too many boomers that have fallen off the track and the RV life is a great way
to redemption and a much better life.
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Elyse Levy
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!
Reviewed in Canada on 13 January 2020
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Awesome book! Highly recommend :)
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Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
by Jessica Bruder (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 9,535 ratings · 1,621 reviews
The inspiration for Chloé Zhao's 2020 Golden Lion award-winning film starring Frances McDormand.
From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the ro ...more
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Paperback, 288 pages
Published September 4th 2018 by W. W. Norton Company (first published September 19th 2017)
Original TitleNomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
ISBN0393356310 (ISBN13: 9780393356311)
URLhttps://wwnorton.com/books/nomadland
Literary AwardsJ. Anthony Lukas Book Prize Nominee (2018), Helen Bernstein Book Award Nominee for Excellence in Journalism (2018)
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Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
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anybody out there identify with this demographic? I've not read the book yet, just listened to this podcast interview with the author: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/is-this-the-end-of-retirement/9015560 I've been a full-timer in a 1978 GMC motorhome, and hoping to be one again 'fore too long. Full-timers are a VERY diverse group, to say the least...
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Jennifer "Full-timers" are a much different group than the focus of this book. If you want more information about this group YouTube "van dwelling, this is you…more
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Ron Wroblewski Just finished the book yesterday and I loved it. Am a full time RVer and love it. Travel all around the US, and familiar with some of the organization…more
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Diane S ☔
May 15, 2019Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it
Shelves: 5000-2019, lor-2019
3.5 A month or so ago I read Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, and now having read this, I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what is going on I'm my own country.
"At one time there was a social contract that if you played by the rules (went to school, got a job and worked hard) everything would be fine. That's no longer true today. You can do everything right, just the way society wants you to do it, and still send up broke, alone, homeless."
A whole society of seniors, most between Sixty and eighty, who after the recession and housing collapse in 2008, lost everything. Walked away from houses where more was owed than the house was now worth. Watched their 401ks dwindle to nothing. They converted trucks, vans, buses, whatever could be bought cheaply and took to the road. They work at various places, at campsites and National parks, where they are camp hosts. Carnivals, beet harvest, which is a hard job, but it is Camperforce that is the largest employee. Run by Amazon to staff their huge warehouses in the four months before Christmas.
They say they are free, but I know there is no way I could live this life. Mind you, we are not talking about s few people, but literally thousands. I think this country has much to answer for if an eighty year old has to work so hard, after working his whole life. Many of these people had good jobs once upon a time, and I can't help but think this country needs a do over. A book that was very informative, I applaud these people who didn't give up, but found a way that seems to work for them. Still, this book made me angry. (less)
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Richard Derus
Oct 22, 2018Richard Derus rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: borrowed, returned
Nomadland observes an America not so much forgotten as ignored, or never seen in the first place. Thus The Guardian to its audience about this beautifully made film...without minimizing its achievements, though, understand that this is strictly a white-person story. Snowy pale cast, so not fully representative.
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD WINNER! Is an Academy Award next?
SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE Read all about the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of the film based on this book! FRANCES MCDORMAND STARS!! There is a link in the CBC article on how to watch the Festival offerings via web from 10 to 20 September.
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
I'm not sure how this happened: A talented writer with a well-regarded agent sells a book to an established and deeply experienced editor at a very good publishing house; the net result is a series of magazine articles, good ones mind you, strung into chapters with some basic tarting-up transitions stuffed in the cracks.
The subject is the source of my upthrusting the earned three-star rating. I'm amazed and appalled that "the world is such a cruel place for the US middle class" needs shouting about. Yet it does. I read Methland not so long ago; its tale of towns being eaten alive by the desperate need to Make It even if it means going against the law of the land like Lori Arnold (sister of Tom Arnold, ex-husband of loudmouth Roseanne the Racist) did seems almost quaint. Making It isn't a viable option for the unemployed older worker. Keeping up a house has been replaced in the older homeowner's worrywarting with plain old keeping the house they scrimped and saved to buy. Pensions are no more; 401(k) plans are flattened; Social Security is under attack from greedyass politicos and banksters. What in the hell does someone who can't make her (most likely medical) bills going to do?
That medical-bill thing is an underplayed thread constant throughout the narrative Author Bruder spins. Person after person, story after story, has its starting point with the medical issues that beset all of us and are particularly prevalent among us oldsters. Author Bruder never fails to elucidate the nature of the medical issues. She's letting you know without doing the teller and the told the insulting condescension of saying outright, "this is due to the insane US medical system, and yes these are people with genuine conditions and diseases who need treatment not shirkers." The mostly older workampers (a word coined by the owners of Workamper dot com in 1987 for the growing legions of mobile, seasonal workers) do jobs that stress their already taxed and aging bodies; then they go "home" to a space most of y'all would sneer at. But it's their own. And so they remain houseless but not homeless.
The people houseless after the 2008 implosion are, in significant numbers, taking to the road. They've traded real estate for wheel estate. They have no choice. It's a simple truth that women are the major sufferers, since they've historically earned less than men and now, in older years, are in line to receive lower Social Security payouts. And the hiring bias for permanent, professional jobs (that we're told doesn't exist) discriminates against women and then, insult to injury, against older workers. Takin' it to the streets has changed meaning in the forty-plus years since the Doobie Brothers sang it. (That was only partially ironic.)
The unbearable whiteness of the mobile homeless is another sad commentary on how the inequality of the US system plays out. People of Color don't follow the nomadic way. Why? When one is at risk of DEATH in a goddamned traffic stop why do you even ask the fucking question?! So the meager assistance and illusory control offered to whites as they take to the road is denied to darker-skinned citizens.
I'm seriously irked by the disjointed nature of the book. Many things are excellent. Author Bruder is a quality storyteller. I'm a smidge uncomfortable about the smacks-of-disaster-tourism nature of a three-year research project into a subject that has no real relevance to the life of a Boerum Hill-dwelling Columbia University professor. I'm willing to skip past that for the light her work shines on those of us thrown away by our sacred US system...absent timely and generous help from friends, this story could be my very own...but then I smack into the disorganization problem.
I don't doubt that there is an organizing principle at work here. The author's a journalist. The editor's an experienced pro. But I can't follow it in any kind of satisfying, narrative-building way. My failing? Permaybehaps...but from the first chapter I got the idea that a narrative would unfold that included two people as my focus. That didn't happen because one person, Linda, whose story really is the backbone of the tale, disappears and reappears at different times doing different things at various stages of her life, while Silvianne vanishes for the length of a Bible before sprouting back into view near the end, and what I assumed was a close friendship kinda wasn't but there's another closer friend who doesn't appear that much in Linda's narrative. I'm left wondering if the reason might not be that LaVonne (the aforementioned friend) called out Author Bruder's motives early on (which we're not told early on, another chronological lapse).
Whatever my quibbles about structure, the information in the piece is grounded in solid reporting. You'll have to look at the endnotes to know this. There are a few footnotes, but these are parenthetical asides. The absence of inline citations is, in my view, not a good decision. Howsomever I can at least see the point of it: Inline citations in a popular social history will scare off the punters, and the slenderness of the proffered analysis of a section of the homelessness epidemic will cause derisory snortings and contemptuous pooh-poohings from Academia.
I hope this book achieves a wide readership among those most in need of its blend of qualities: The comfortable and clueless six-figurers who infest our gentrifying coastal cities. It can happen to you, kids, and it becomes a very great deal more likely to the less likely you are to vote in November 2018. (less)
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Jenna
Jul 01, 2019Jenna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: sociology, non-fiction
“At one time there was a social contract that if you played by the rules (went to school, got a job, and worked hard) everything would be fine,” he told readers. “That’s no longer true today. You can do everything right, just the way society wants you to do it, and still end up broke, alone, and homeless.”
What do a former Washington State University academic adviser, former taxi driver, former advertising art director, former office manager, and former broadcast journalist have in common? They all, after having chased the American Dream for years, found themselves houseless, living out of RVs and vans, travelling around the US looking for work. After years of chasing it, they found that the American Dream was nothing but a big ol' con.
Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century was an eye-opener for me. I had no idea about the growing number of people, many of them past retirement age, living out of vehicles. As costs of living continue to rise and wages and social security payments stagnate, many are being forced out of their homes, unable to pay rent and utilities and still have enough money for food and other necessities. It is becoming harder and harder to find jobs with a livable income and thus people are forced into circumstances they would previously not have been able to imagine.
In Nomadland, author Jessica Bruder takes us into the lives of several modern-day nomads. For three years she travelled around the country, getting to know them and often living like them, out of a van she purchased for this reason. She writes with compassion and insight of these hard-working and proud individuals who find increasingly creative ways in which to survive. Some of the people she writes about lost their homes and/or savings in the economic and housing crisis. Others lost their homes due to illness. Still others found themselves unable to remain in their homes after losing a decent-paying job and being unable to find another, partly due to agism in the workplace and partly due to employers not wanting to pay a living wage.
I usually prefer non-fiction without a ton of "human interest" stories, ones that are more hard fact than personal stories. However, for this book, the myriad personal stories worked. The way in which it is written gives a wide look into the lives, and former lives, of several of America's new houseless (these individuals prefer to be called houseless rather than homeless, because the latter implies they don't have a place to live. They do have a place to live -- out of their vehicles-- even if it's not a residence most of us would want.)
These brave individuals try to remain positive and hopeful, no matter what circumstance they find themselves in. They are nothing if not innovative. It was amazing to me, seeing the ways in which they think of to survive, no matter what hardships they face.
This book made me angry(ier) and it made me anxious. It was impossible to read without feeling anxiety for these people whose stories make up the pages, wondering how they will survive, or if they will survive. It was impossible to not feel some anxiety for my own future as well, as Ms, Bruder shows how easy it is to find oneself in this situation and knowing that the cost of living is always rising and yet incomes are not.
The other eye-opening (for me) aspect of this book is how companies are preying on the predicaments people find themselves in, in order to take advantage of their situation. Amazon especially has found a way to make money off of the increasing number of transient people. They send recruiters to the RV camps to round up hard-working people for temporary holiday jobs. They provide free parking and yet pay minimally. These are people in their 60s, 70s, even 80s, forced to work 12 hour days. Physically demanding work in return for pennies. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, has a net worth of 155.6 billion USD (as of 2019) and he cannot afford to pay workers a living wage?? Despicable. Just as bad as the Walton family. I am even further incensed, learning that these companies get federal tax credits (ranging from 25 to 40 percent of wages) for hiring people on SSI or food stamps. What. The. FUCK??? So, they pay their workers shit, meaning they have to stay on government assistance, and then the companies are rewarded for it?? This is some fucked-up shit, if you'll excuse the language.
OK, moving along, before I really start ranting.
In spite of the anger and anxiety this book aroused in me, I'm very glad to have read it and learned about these extraordinary and resilient people. It is well-researched, and shows the tenacity of people, the ability to find a way to survive in spite of bad circumstances. Indeed, to not just survive, but to do so whilst finding the positive in their situations. The majority of the people Ms. Bruder writes about have chosen to view their lives as one of freedom from materialism and consumerism rather than as one of hardship. It is hard not to feel a sense of freedom in this lifestyle, and yet it is not one I desire. I come away from this book with a profound respect for the Nomad class... and a searing anger at a system that forces people, even the elderly, into these situations. Highly recommend. (less)
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Kelli
Jan 23, 2018Kelli rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: audio
I want to begin by saying that I listened to this audiobook and I definitely do NOT recommend that experience. I am truly surprised I made it through to the end. Trust me, get the actual book. (Also, this book uses lots of special jargon and because I listened, I may be misspelling these special words and may have incorrectly punctuated the quote at the end.)
I’m having a hard time reviewing this book. At its core it’s about a little known subculture of poor retirees who are basically forced by circumstance to live in vans, used campers, trucks and other old, tiny vehicles not intended for living. They travel from state to state doing hard labor for low wages. This community of “workampers” share tips and ideas through social media and at annual gatherings like the “Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.” The author followed these people around for three years, but the star of the book is Linda May, a woman who seems infinitely happy and positive, despite living in a tiny camper without a bathroom, having no healthcare, and frankly working her ass off for very low wages. Honestly, this woman should be an inspirational speaker. She was always so upbeat. But therein lies my issue with the book. It often felt like the author was selling this lifestyle as something good. It’s not good. When people who have worked hard their entire lives are forced into these living situations, no bonfire party can put a shine in that. These people go without healthcare and work like dogs. I found it tremendously depressing.
This book could benefit greatly from more input from sociologists, economists, and psychologists. While it brought to light this phenomena of van-dwelling itinerant workers, it lacked balance, lost its power and eventually felt redundant. Story after story of people, many from California, rising above their circumstances to celebrate their new “wheel estate” and “vanily,” yet they are living in vehicles and essentially alone.
The biggest shock for me was the horrendous working conditions at Amazon, where older workers are recruited through their Camper Force initiative. Amazon provides free over-the-counter pain medication for these workers, who are expected to keep a dizzying pace filling orders, often walking more than 15 miles in a work day. Repetitive motion injuries abound, as do many other physical problems that accompany racewalking on concrete.
Here is a quote from the always upbeat Linda May:
Right now I am working in a big warehouse for a major online supplier. The stuff is crap all made somewhere else in the world where they don’t have child labor laws, where the workers labor 14 to 16 hour days without meals or bathroom breaks. There is 1,000,000 ft.² in this warehouse packed with stuff that won’t last a month. It is all going to a landfill. This company has hundreds of warehouses. Our economy is built on the backs of slaves we keep in other countries like China, India, Mexico...any third world country with a cheap labor force where we don’t have to see them but where we can enjoy the fruits of their labor. This American corporation is probably the biggest slaveowner in the world.
She then goes on to comment on how consumers are in turn enslaved by said corporation as they buy more and more things then don’t need and work more and more to pay for those things. Hmmm.
Food for thought and perhaps another conversation. 3 stars but again, if you do decide to read this, skip the audio. (less)
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Darlene
Dec 14, 2017Darlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
"Some call them homeless. The new nomads refer to themselves as 'houseless'. Many
took to the road after their savings were obliterated by the Great Recession. To keep
their gas tanks and bellies full, they work long hours at hard, physical jobs. In a time
of flat wages and rising housing costs, they have unshackled themselves from rent
and mortgages as a way to get by. They are surviving America."
I finished reading this book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century weeks ago and since then it has weighed heavily on my mind. I confess that I have been avoiding writing this review but each time I walk past my desk, the cover of the book catches my eye.... This book began as an article written by social justice journalist, Jessica Bruder. Because Ms. Bruder studies cultural trends, she became aware of a disturbing trend, one which seemed to appear after the Great Recession... the development of a kind of geriatric underclass or caste system. Recalling to mind the 'hobos' of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Ms. Bruder describes a group of modern-day nomadic people she had had the opportunity to become acquainted with, following them across America as they pursued one grueling job after another.
Although the cast of characters is substantial, each of the wanderers in this book has a unique story ... stories which served to remind me of just how frayed the social safety net has become the United States. Jessica Bruder DOES present a kind of protagonist in this book whom she appears to have developed a relationship with and her name is Linda May. Linda is a 64-year-old woman who has found herself living on the edge many times throughout her life.. sometimes living without running water or electricity and sometimes couch-surfing with her daughter and family. Even though she had worked many jobs throughout her life, as a general contractor, insurance executive, cocktail waitress and even owning her own business for a time, she had never managed to secure a job which provided her with that ever-elusive, coveted benefit... a pension. When Linda realized that her social security check would only total $499/month and her rent was $600/month, she knew she would have to make a drastic adjustment to her lifestyle if she wanted to survive. That was when she discovered a website that would change her life and set her on a course to join the ever-growing group of people who refer to themselves as 'workampers'. The website had been created by a man named Bob Wells, a clerk at a Safeway grocery chain in Alaska, who had gone broke and ended up living in his van. His years of experiences inspired him to create a website to provide tips for 'transient survival' and it surely inspired Linda. Linda, who had taken a short-term but well-paying job at a Veterans' Affairs Hospital, managed to save $4,000 which she used to buy an 18' 1994 Eldorado mobile home. It smelled musty, had a broken generator, bald tires and it had recently been wrecked. Nevertheless, this mobile home was to become Linda's home-on-wheels.
Loading all of her worldly possessions into the Eldorado (which she nicknamed the 'Squeeze Inn'), Linda began her new life as part of this nomadic community, heading to her first seasonal job at a campground near Yosemite National Park . Her duties at the campground included registration of the visitors, collection of the camping fees and keeping the outdoor toilets clean; and for her labor, she was paid $8.50/hour and of course, a place to park her mobile home. These campground jobs are popular with people living the nomadic life. According to Kampgrounds of America, a major employer of these workampers, they employ about 1,500 people each year.
When Linda May's workamper job ended in September, she was on her way to her next seasonal job in Fenley, Arizona where Amazon has a warehouse and employs a workforce made up entirely of RV dwellers. This workforce, known as Amazon CamperForce, is comprised of people mainly in their 60s and 70s, who work during Amazon's peak shopping season (Christmas). The CamperForce are paid $12.25/ hour but the work is tedious and grueling. As part of a digital newsletter Amazon publishes for its CamperForce, they recommend that prospective employees be able to lift 50 lbs. at a time in an environment where the temperature may exceed 90 degrees. And the warehouse is so enormous that one worker who posted his Fitbit log demonstrated that in 12 1/2 weeks of work, he had walked 820 miles.
This book shows only too clearly that in the United States, plans for retirement have been undergoing a dramatic shift since the Great Recession. A poll suggests that Americans now fear outliving their assets more than they fear dying; and only 17% of Americans plan on not having to work in their later years. Some, of course, will continue to work to remain connected socially and to stay active; but many will work out of economic necessity. According to an interview Ms. Bruder conducted with Monique Morrissey, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, what is occurring in the U.S. is the "first ever reversal in retirement security in modern U.S. history. Starting with the younger baby boomers, each successive generation is now doing worse than previous generations in terms of their ability to retire without seeing a drop in living standards." This demographic is being referred to as downwardly mobile older Americans and is growing at an alarming rate.
Jessica Bruder spent two years traveling with Linda May and her group of nomads ... traveling from campground to Amazon warehouses; from roadside stands selling everything from fireworks for the 4th of July to Christmas trees; and from picking raspberries in Vermont to harvesting the sugar beet crop in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. This book is filled with personal stories and lest you find yourself wanting to sit in judgment or place blame on these people... something many Americans seem incapable of NOT doing... keep this in mind... although there are some people in this group who spent their lives working low wage jobs for various reasons, there ARE just as many who are educated. Many had been college professors, business owners and in white collar management positions and had been victims of the 2008 market crash which vaporized all of their savings. Many lost their jobs and could not find new ones which allowed them to meet their mortgage payments rent and others lost their homes to foreclosure. What ALL of these people had in common was that they believed they had been part of a social contract... a contract that promised that if you played by the rules set up by government and society and you worked hard throughout your life, everything would be fine. Instead, they learned that what they had believed was untrue.
Although I found (and still find) this book deeply troubling, I am moved by the way in which Jessica Bruder wrote about the people she had come to know. She wrote about them with compassion, sensitivity and respect; and she awarded them with the dignity they deserve. But I admit that I was also struck by the precariousness of their position and I believe the daily instability of their lives was not lost on Ms. Bruder either. Even though this group of 'houseless' people were cheerful, hopeful and had set up their very own society (or subculture), there was always a profound feeling of despair that came through on each and every page of this book. It also wasn't lost on me that their advancing ages presented a host of future challenges- what would happen if they became seriously ill? unable to drive? physically incapable of performing the grueling seasonal work they had been relying on to get by? Each of these people were just one illness, injury or expensive vehicle repair away from personal catastrophe and they had no resources at their disposal.
Jessica Bruder closes this book with two important questions and I will close my review with those same questions... 'What parts of this life are you willing to give up, so you can keep on living?" And "When do impossible choices start to tear people- a society-apart?"
Here is a link to a 'Huffington Post' article about the impossibility of obtaining affordable housing in the U.S...
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/... (less)
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Kelly (and the Book Boar)
Jun 26, 2019Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it
Shelves: non-fiction, liburrrrrry-book, read-in-2019, pretty-on-the-outside, road-trippin, smort
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“At one time there was a social contract that if you played by the rules (went to school, got a job, and worked hard) everything would be fine. That’s no longer true today. You can do everything right, just the way society wants you to do it, and still end up broke, alone, and homeless.”
Nomadland is the three year study of a subset of retirees living the above quote. Either due to losing (or never acquiring) a pension, the housing bust, market crash, divorce, or a handful of other unpredictable situations, these folks have chosen a lifestyle similar to “a modern-day version of The Grapes of Wrath.” Their homes????
Their work? Whatever the change in season and change of location brings. From the much advertised . . . .
For the Christmas rush to various harvests in the Fall . . .
To maintaining campgrounds and manning rides at amusement parks throughout North America in the summer . . . .
(Ouch, shoulda ducked there, fella.)
These are people with an incomparable work ethic who have chosen to do whatever it takes in order to get by. They have swapped $100,000 per year budgets for $75 per week and comfortable homes with sprawling lawns in suburbia for motor homes, modified delivery vehicles and pull-behind campers. Their stories are simply fascinating. Highly recommended to those who have never experienced more than a First World Problem as well as anyone who is looking for non-fiction with the page turnability factor like what was found in Evicted.
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Sheri
Nov 01, 2017Sheri rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: nonfiction, 2017
Nomadland offers various talking points to ponder over and deliberate such as vehicle dwelling, the nomadic lifestyle, and economic issues. I got the most out of Part One which talked mainly about the reasons behind vehicle dwelling and thus my review reflects my thoughts primarily on that section.
"At one time there was a social contract that if you played by the rules (went to school, got a job, and worked hard) everything would be fine. That's no longer true today. You can do everything right, just the way society wants you to do it, and still end up broke, alone, and homeless." (p. 74)
The people you read about in Nomadland are people who are down on their luck, out of options, and out of time. Everyone has experienced a financial loss of some sort and "had fallen a long, long way from the middle-class comforts they had always taken for granted." (p. 61) After time and money ran out, somewhere, somehow, these people got the idea that living in a vehicle was a viable, or perhaps the only, alternative to more traditional housing.
"There have always been itinerants, drifters, hobos, restless souls. But now, in the second millennium, a new kind of wandering tribe is emerging. People who never imagined being nomads are hitting the road. They're giving up traditional houses and apartments to live in what some call "wheel estate" -- vans, secondhand RVs, school buses, pickup campers, travel trailers, and plain old sedans. They are driving away from the impossible choices that face what used to be the middle class." (p. xii) After reading the foreword, I got the impression that this lifestyle has been romanticized. Later on the idea that a nomadic life is an escape of sorts is presented; "one could be reborn into a life of freedom and adventure." (p. 74)
While the title and description led me to believe that this book would be about survival and doing what you have to do to stay alive, it seems to be focused more on people who chose this lifestyle rather than people who were forced into it. Don't get me wrong, many were forced into vehicle dwelling but it is not seen as a last resort but rather a new and different place to call home. I don't think I am explaining myself very well here...
I feel like the vehicle dwellers chronicled here have given up on the classic American Dream for another cheaper version. Some may say hey, that's okay. We all need to find and do what works for us, there is no one set way. I do agree with that idea yet I can't help but feel that these people aren't really choosing this lifestyle. That for the great majority, if they had not suffered a financial loss, had planned to be and still would be traditional home dwellers. I applaud those who have managed to put a positive spin on a negative situation but the mind-set doesn't quite ring true. It's a hard and stressful life but that is glossed over by blogs and gatherings supporting this nomadic lifestyle.
I struggled to get through the rest of the book after Part One as I wasn't as interested in the subject matter as when I first started. This is an interesting read that turned out to be different than I was expecting. It is certainly still thought provoking and would make a great book club read. (less)
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Brandice
Nov 11, 2018Brandice rated it liked it · review of another edition
I found Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First century to be a nearly even split between fascinating and terrifying. Journalist Jessica Bruder observes and travels along with “nomads” across the United States. Most of these nomads are older adults, and while some form of freedom and living off the grid may sound appealing, many had limited other options, particularly after the hard times that rocked the nation in 2008.
They live in RVs, older converted vans and trucks, and occasionally motor homes. They drive and camp across the country, frequently setting up shop in close proximity to seasonal, temporary jobs, dubbing themselves “workampers.” A few examples of such jobs include working in Amazon’s massive warehouses as inventory scanners, working for the seasonal harvest of sugar beets in Minnesota and North Dakota, and working as campsite staff for California state parks. While not always mentally stimulating, the work often involves long hours and manual, physical labor. The pay frequently ranges from $9-12 an hour. The nomads (as a whole) often take offense to being called “homeless”, preferring “houseless” instead.
This book was anxiety-inducing for me, thinking about the struggle many of them endure, living paycheck to paycheck on (what’s widely considered) meager wages, just to make enough to pay for live-in vehicle repairs, groceries, and in the event of any medical emergencies, bills. I know this struggle is not unique to nomads, though the book was an isolated study of this particular group. I did admire the nomads’ constant creativity in finding ways to get by - enduring the labor of these temporary jobs or using various items to equip their vans for long-term, more permanent use. It was also inspiring to see their regularly optimistic attitudes.
I enjoyed the chapters toward the end where Jessica truly attempted to immerse herself in this van-dwelling nomadic culture. I thought her assessments were honest and fair throughout the book.
While this lifestyle, whether by choice or circumstance, doesn’t remotely appeal to me, I recognize no dream is universal to everyone, including the traditional picture of The American Dream. Though it made me anxious, Nomandland was an intriguing study of a subculture I had no idea existed. (less)
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Sabine
Nov 19, 2017Sabine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: audio-2017, camping, 2017, non-fiction
Since my plan is to spend most of my time travelling North America in an RV when I retire I have been doing a lot of research on the subject of living in an RV.
It was a very shocking eye opener when I first discovered that there are people living in cars, vans and RV's just to make ends meet.
The author has spent a long time talking and living with these nomads and even working
the same seasonal jobs. So we get a very interesting and real glimpse at their current lives and what causes people to "choose" this lifestyle. (less)
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Lisa
Mar 25, 2019Lisa rated it really liked it
[4+] I am feeling so many emotions after finishing this book about older Americans who live a nomadic life. I feel sad that there aren't more options in our country for work and healthcare and housing. I am angry that people in their 60s and 70s need to work 10 hour days in transient jobs like those in Amazon warehouses. And I am filled with admiration at the ingenuity and bravery of these "houseless" men and women who have found a way to live that gives them the freedom they need. Bruder did an excellent job bringing to life several individuals, particularly Linda May, and portraying them with dignity. (less)
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