Scratch Beginnings - Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream

After graduating from college, Adam Shepard felt disillusioned by the apathy around him and set out to prove that it was possible to make something out of nothing and achieve the American Dream. With a sleeping bag, the clothes on his back, and $25 in cash, and restricted from using his contacts or college education, he headed out for Charleston, South Carolina, a randomly selected city, with one objective: to work his way out of homelessness and to have, after one year, $2,500 in savings, a working automobile, and a furnished apartment. Scratch Beginnings is the earnest and passionate account of Shepard''s struggle to overcome the pressures placed on the homeless. His journey is sure to inspire students and will remind them that America is still one of the most hopeful countries in the world. Freshman Common Read: Methodist University, North Carolina Central University, Lewis University (Illinois), St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and Voorhees College--among others

About the author

Adam Shepard is a 2006 graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, where he majored in business management and Spanish. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Product details

• Authors: Adam Shepard, Adam W Shepard, Adam W. Shepard
• Publisher: Harper Perennial USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 09.02.2010
• EAN: 9780061714276
• ISBN: 978-0-06-171427-6
• No. of pages: 240
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 203 mm x 14 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Personal Memoirs, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Women, FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE: MEMOIR AMERICAN VOICES, COMPOSITION & WRITING: MEMOIR & BIOGRAPHY, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS: Economics / General, ECONOMICS: SOCIAL, SELF-HELP: Personal Growth / Success, FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE: AMERICAN HISTORY & SOCIETY, SOCIAL SCIENCE: Social Classes, SOCIAL SCIENCE: Poverty & Homelessness