Scratch beginnings : me, $25, and the search for the American dream / Adam Shepard.

Introduction : July 24-setting up -- Welcome to Crisis Ministries -- Easylabor -- Another day, another dollar -- Big babies -- Sundays with George -- Hustle time -- Job hunting 101 with Professor Phil Coleman -- Put up or shut up -- "First and last day" -- Adventure in moving -- Movin' on up -- Workers' consternation -- Winter with bubble gum -- Culture shocked -- Fighting for respect -- One last move -- Epilogue : a year later: a didactic look at what I learned and where we go from here.

Recounts the experiences of the author, a college graduate, as he spends one year living as a homeless person and learns valuable lessons about what it takes to break out of the cycle of poverty in the United States.