If you’ve read or seen Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance and want to get a broader perspective of poverty in a rich country, or if you’d prefer to bypass Vance entirely, consider Dignity by Chris Arnade. It’s a portrait of what Arnade calls back row America: The homeless, the addicts, the prostitutes and their quest for community, spirituality and, above all, dignity. The parallels between what it means to be at the lowest rung of society in modern America and in 1930s Europe as described in George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London are clear. The biggest difference? Hunger has become less central to the plight of the poorest and its place has been taken by drug problems.
Arnade’s more recent writing, describing his experience walking the world, is available on his excellent blog.
Nehaveigur 