Review: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while but it just never made it to the top of the pile. It’s won a ton of awards, including the Pulitzer Prize! I’m so glad that I finally picked it up - it really lived up to the praise I’ve been hearing. I did not want to put this down. It’s compelling and devastating at the same time. This book tells the story of poverty in America in such a refreshing and real way. It reads like a novel, not a nonfiction book. The book follows 8 families in Milwaukee as they try to live their lives and provide for their families. It’s heartbreaking in so many ways. We all think that we know what life is like for the poor but this book really puts you in their shoes in a way that opens your eyes to things you’ve never thought of before.

All of the people in this book want to do better but institutional forces make it so difficult for the poor. They spend the vast majority of their money on rent and have inevitably fallen behind. They can barely feed their children but are paying almost all of their money for a home that is often in terrible shape – no water, plumbing not working, the house covered in lead paint, etc. If they ask for things to be fixed, they are likely to be evicted. It’s brutal. It’s heartbreaking. It’s infuriating. We have got to do better! How can we expect people who are struggling with such basics as a roof over their head or food on the table to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and pull their family out of poverty? We do everything we can to make it close to impossible and then blame them for the situation that they find themselves in. I thought that I knew about poverty, housing and evictions after my years as a social worker but WOW … I learned so much from this book.

It’s changed the way that I view the world. It has changed the way that I view so much – poverty, education, human services, food stamps, and so much more. The segregation and discrimination that these families face every single day would be devastating to anyone. And yet they keep going, doing everything they can to make it in a world that seems to push them down every time they make it up a little bit. This book should be required reading. Everyone should better understand the housing crisis in the US and how our government is not providing the support that is necessary for millions of people in America. I hope this book scares all of us enough to DO SOMETHING about this. To demand that our government do something about this!

This is a horrifying and stunning book that I just cannot recommend more highly. Just a few of the things you’ll learn about by reading this include -

1. How easy it is to evict a tenant

2. How most (90%+) of the poor’s money goes to rent whereas it’s recommended for people to only spend 30% of their income on housing.

3. Imagine trying to go to school and learn when you’re just worried about where you’ll sleep and if you’ll have food on the table.

4. Landlords prefer to not rent to families or a parent with children, adding additional burden on poor single mothers.

I could list 400 nuggets that you’ll read about in this book. I really hope you’ll pick this one up. It’s a must read! I’ll leave you with one more thought from the book …

“Whatever our way out of this mess, one thing is certain. This degree of inequality, this withdrawal of opportunity, this cold denial of basic needs, this endorsement of pointless suffering – by no American value is this situation justified.”

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.