Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century

This is one of the more profoundly disturbing books I have read, and it's a possible contemporary successor to Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed.Ms Bruder follows "workampers" in their itinerant, gypsy-esque lives around the US doing low-wage, unstable work out of necessity. This demographic is disproportionately older (55-75) and constituted by women. For various reasons, they've been forced to the extreme economic and social margins of American society. To witness their cheerfulness amidst a grueling, dystopian vulnerability (economic, physical, and mental) evokes a profoundly unsettling sense of perturbation from me.Our amusement parks, our produce, our favorite campsites, and *even our packages from Amazon* depend substantially on impoverished and, frankly, desperate seniors. They live in vans, old RVs, and even cars permanently camping while taking short-term, dirty, and dangerous minimum wage jobs. They do this at the expense of their physical health. They're encouraged by being told that they're not working hard enough if they're NOT taking at least 2 tylenols at the end of their shift - free OTC pain meds being a "perk" of working in an Amazon warehouse. Jeff Bezos loves these workers, and hopes to eventually employ all vankampers for at least one stint by the end of the decade. Why shouldn't he? They're a godsend. They bring the non-cynical can-do work ethic of yesteryear, they're economically desperate, and Federal tax credits offset 25-40% of their wages!Welcome to the new America, where downwardly mobile ex-middle class grannies are working themselves into an early grave for free super-saver shipping.

"Depressingly Informative" is how I would describe this book. The idea that any one of us reading this may end up with no workable income, no medical insurance, no ability to make mortgage payments or to pay off the bills already accrued is devastating. Being in the age group repensented at a time when supposedly guaranteed "fixed" income, from social security and pensions is becoming targeted by the cut-the-taxes-to-the-rich people is really scary. This could be me--or you-- in a dilapidated RV living from genuinely exhausting part-time gig to part-time gig, no running water, no electricity, at ages 60, 65, 70+.........and the solution the author offers? There is none. She is as terrified as the rest of us. No matter what kind of happy pill the Nomads take, nothing can change the facts that they are basically destitute and without a financially stable future.Don't read this if you're behind in your mortgage payments or are facing downsizing. Trust me.

I found this book extremely informative but touching as well. I read it in one night. After finishing I wanted to know what happened to the people Jessica befriended. I read the book sitting under the canopy of my aging Class C surrounded by $200,000 plus RVs. Our "camp" spot $60/night. I have visited many of the blogs and web pages mentioned in the book. We have traveled full time as part of my job for 12 years. We have hiked so many trails and visited a huge percentage of state and national parks. It was our intention when we actually retire in a few years to volunteer as camp hosts as a way of giving back and extending our retirement dollars. I have followed workampers blogs and they do all seem quite upbeat and thought this would be a fun thing to do also. Thank you Jessica for all your research and for opening my eyes. We seem like the poor house on the block but never realized their was such a disparity among nomads. I assume they are just now allowed in to the places we stay, rigs must be 10 years or younger, you must prove you have 100,000 insurance, you have to have a background check if staying in any one place for longer than a month. I have a sneaky suspicion that many of these bigger blogs & websites with the exception of RVtravel.com are supported by the RV industry which is questionable at best. Please keeping digging because the next expose needs to be on the RV industry and their shoddy workmanship and data mining techniques.

At 66 I've retired and living in Scotland and much as I'd like to visit America I'm glad I haven't had to retire there, this book shows amazing people but I feel they have been let down by their system, as I grow older I'm thankful for our health service and security system with all of their faults is there and I'll never face the challenges of these vandwellers.

Fabulous piece of journalism. Bruder did a great job immersing herself in the "elderly" nomadic culture in US. I learned a lot about the terrible working conditions at Amazon and other seasonal companies who pay low wages and abuse the bodies of the workers. This book reveals the growing chasm between the poor and the wealthy. I highly recommend it.

Very interesting story but I failed to get a sense of how prevelant this lifestyle is in USA. Still a good expose of how these nomads find employment and how the gig economy prevents the Ametican Dream being realised.

One of the best books I have ever read!!!!

Very good book. Not a How to book. But a journey. It made me reflect on what is possible, but having patience is the key.,