Elizabeth R. (esjro) - , reviewed on 5/11/2010 + 948 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Michelle Kennedy was a promising young student at American University when she married her husband Tom. After she has dropped out of college to become a full time mother, Michelle's husband decides that their family is too dependent on material things and announces that he has quit his job. He moves the two kids and Michelle (who is pregnant with their third child) to northern Maine, where they live in a rustic cabin with no running water or electricity. Michelle is determined to keep their family intact despite the increasingly irresponsible behavior of her husband, but after an accident that occurred which Tom was supposedly supervising the kids she decides that she and the children would be better off rejoining society.

Michelle drives her children to the coast of Maine, where she plans to find a job and get an apartment. She finds work as a waitress, but her small hourly wage and tips are barely enough to feed her young family, let alone pay for child care and a security deposit on an apartment. Though she receives virtually no financial assistance from her husband, Michelle's pride prevents her from asking for money from her parents, so she and her kids find themselves homeless and living out of the car.

Once I started this book I could not put it down - I stayed up until 2 am hoping for a happy ending. Michelle's story demonstrates how difficult it is for the working poor to survive, and how few bad decisions or a streak of bad luck could put almost anyone in the same position. This is a very moving story.

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