Fear of Falling
The Inner Life of the Middle Class

Despite growing up in a poor, rural town, I have almost no social contact with blue collar workers in my daily adult life. This book helped me wrap my mind around the divisions between the “professional class” of white collar workers and their “working class” blue collar counterparts. It explores th......more

If you've never read Ehrenreich before (Nickled and Dimed, Bait and Switch), you're in for a sociological treat. In this particular work, she visits a new understanding of the class system in America, using her heydey of the 60s as part backdrop, part hammer to crack the belief systems of class deni......more

I remember listening to an NPR segment a few years ago about a journalist following a girl from a poor neighborhood who was "smart" and talented. The girl started working at a grocery store after high school, and a few years later the journalist went back to follow up on the story. She was shocked t......more

Disturbing because it was dated, yet ultimately, it wasn't dated.......more

Barbara Ehrenreich continues to be one of my favorite authors of all time. The way she’s able to write about the economic divides and class struggles in the United States is just pure perfection. Once again, I’m absolutely blown away that a book this old is so relevant and the fact that we’ve learne......more