modern day nomads

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is an intimate look into a growing group of folks who are houseless rather than homeless. For many different reasons, these folks have decided that their best option is to pare down their physical possessions to just the essentials and hit the road full time. For most of these folks, they found themselves excluded from the system that provides income, food, shelter, and possessions we take for granted. Instead of giving up, they have resiliently redefined their lives, traveling in search of work, and embracing a minimalist lifestyle. The author embeds herself in this story, camping, working, and writing with these folks for several years, in order to go deep beneath a superficiality and passing view of their lives. This is a great work of journalism, and conveys the depth and richness of the lives and family of these modern day nomads. It is concerning as the author explores the changes in our culture that remove life options from these folks. It truth, most of us are just a few unfortunate circumstances from having our options similarly changed. In our hyper-capitalistic culture, we will see this nomadic lifestyle become even more common. I am looking forward to going back to watch the film based on this book again, with clear and fresh context.

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