 | |
| Author | Linda Tirado |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Poverty in the United States |
| Publisher | Putnam Adult |
Publication date | 2014 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print, Kindle, Audio |
| ISBN | 978-0399171987 |
| OCLC | 900901970 |
Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America is the debut book by author Linda Tirado. The book was released on 2 October 2014 and contains a foreword written by Barbara Ehrenreich. [1]
Tirado, a 32-year-old mother of two who worked two low-paying jobs, [2] wrote a message in response to the question "Why do poor people do things that seem so self-destructive?" on an online forum. [3] Her response went viral and was subsequently reprinted by The Huffington Post , The Nation , and Forbes , [3] in November 2013 under the title This Is Why Poor People's Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense. [4] Tirado subsequently received $60,000 in donations from concerned readers, and a book deal. [5] The article was read by over 6 million people [6] and led to Tirado receiving over 20,000 emails in one week. [2] She wrote the book while she continued to work at an IHOP in Utah. [7]
In November 2014, Tirado appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher [8] and On Point to promote the book. [6]
The book attempts to answer many questions that middle and upper-class people have about the working poor, such as why they eat junk food, have kids, smoke, drink and do drugs. Tirado states that all the answers to these questions relate to a simple lack of money—for example, minimum wage and no benefits result in long shifts and constant commuting, which results in fast food consumption being the only viable option. Having no time to plan ahead and save money results in a desire to have children now since there will never be a better time. [3] Tirado makes no apologies for being a smoker, stating that smoking helps reduce hunger and relieves stress from working exhausting jobs. [9] Chapter titles include "You Can't Pay a Doctor in Chickens Anymore", [3] "I've Got Way Bigger Problems Than a Spinach Salad Can Solve", and "We Do Not Have Babies for Welfare Money". The book ends with an open letter to "rich people" regarding topics such as sex and parenting. [10]
Peter Coy from Bloomberg Businessweek gave a favourable review, calling it "funny, sarcastic, full of expletives, and most of all outrageously honest." [1] Marcia Kaye from the Toronto Star also gave a favorable review, concluding the book was "provocative and controversial, and I wouldn't be the least surprised to see Tirado, in her thrift store sweater and ill-fitting jeans, running for office one day soon." [9]
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a book written by Barbara Ehrenreich. Written from her perspective as an undercover journalist, it sets out to investigate the impact of the 1996 welfare reform act on the working poor in the United States.
Barbara Ehrenreich was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and award-winning columnist and essayist and the author of 21 books. Ehrenreich was best known for her 2001 book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, a memoir of her three-month experiment surviving on a series of minimum-wage jobs. She was a recipient of a Lannan Literary Award and the Erasmus Prize.
William Maher is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is popularly known for the HBO political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher (2003–present) and the similar late-night show called Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC. In 2022, Maher started the podcast Club Random.
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Hand to Mouth may refer to:
Ben Ehrenreich is an American freelance journalist and novelist who lives in Los Angeles.
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Alfred Dunhill was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. a London-based luxury goods company owned by Swiss company Richemont and the Dunhill tobacco products company owned by British American Tobacco.
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Linda Tirado is an American author, freelance photographer and political activist. Her memoir Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America is about her life as a member of the working poor. She has also written articles for The Guardian, The Daily Beast and other online periodicals. In 2014, she was included in the BBC's 100 Women.
Tirado is a surname and a given name of Castilian origin. The Tirado lineage has its roots in the mountains of León, where the earliest manor or casa solar is found. During the Reconquista, branches of Tirado spread to New Castile, Extremadura (Cáceres), Valencia (Castellón) and Andalusia (Huelva), wherefrom it passed to the Americas. Notable people with the name include:
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