Tightrope : Americans reaching for hope Cover Image

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Tightrope : Americans reaching for hope / Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

Kristof, Nicholas D., 1959- (author.). WuDunn, Sheryl, 1959- (author.).

Summary:

Nicholas Kristof grew up, in rural Yamhill, Oregon, an area that prospered for much of the twentieth century but has been devastated in the last few decades as blue-collar jobs disappeared. About one-quarter of the children on Kristof's old school bus died in adulthood from drugs, alcohol, suicide, or reckless accidents. And while these particular stories unfolded in one corner of the country, they are representative of many places the authors write about, ranging from the Dakotas and Oklahoma to New York and Virginia. But here too are stories about resurgence, among them: Annette Dove, who has devoted her life to helping the teenagers of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, as they navigate the chaotic reality of growing up poor; Daniel McDowell, of Baltimore, whose tale of opioid addiction and recovery suggests that there are viable ways to solve our nation's drug epidemic. These accounts provide a picture of working-class families needlessly but profoundly damaged as a result of decades of policy mistakes.

Record details

ISBN: 9780525655084
ISBN: 0525655085
ISBN: 9780593171714
ISBN: 0593171713
ISBN: 0525655093
ISBN: 9780525655091
Physical Description: 304 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-293) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

The kids on the number 6 school bus -- "We're no. 61!" -- When jobs disappear -- American aristocracy -- How America went astray -- Drug dealers in lab coats -- Losing the war on drugs -- Up by the bootstraps -- Deaths of despair -- Interventions that work -- Universal health care: One day, one town -- Homeless in a rich nation -- The escape artists -- A shot in the face -- God save the family -- The marriage of true minds -- We eat our young -- Raising troubled kids -- Creating more escape artists -- America regained -- Appendix: Ten steps you can take in the next ten minutes to make a difference.