PASO ROBLES, CA – July 8, 2020 As part of the Library’s Summer Reading Program and Book to Action grant-funded classes and events, the public, ages 16+, is invited to a ZOOM discussion of the Pulitzer prize winning book Evicted by Matthew Desmond, on Wednesday, August 19, 7:00-8:00 pm. Space is limited. Registration is required for each participant.
In vivid, intimate prose, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America’s vast inequality—and to people’s determination and intelligence in the face of hardship. Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
Book to Action is a program of the California Center for the Book, a program of the California Library Association, supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.