American Grunt: Ridiculous Stories of a Life Lived at $8.00 an Hour

by Kevin Cramer

Working dead-end blue-collar jobs your whole life can take a dramatic physical and emotional toll-unless you learn to embrace the absurdity.

Kevin Cramer has almost died at work three separate times, surviving each incident only through a minor miracle. It got him asking the question-why? Why do so many of us get up and trudge to a place we dislike every day? American Ridiculous Stories of a Life Lived at $8.00 an Hour is Cramer's quest to find meaning in a career spanning nearly a hundred forgettable jobs from paper boy to construction laborer, including all the warehouses, bars, parking lots, schools, and delivery trucks in between.

American Grunt is a book for all of us whose dreams never quite materialized and who found ourselves both laughing and weeping at the insanity of where we got stuck. This story provides hope that despite all the frustration, it's possible to live a modern blue-collar life without the oft-attached bitterness.

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[-julz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graduate in the 90s and lived thru many jobs and chances, Cramer shares so many relatable and heartfelt parts of his life which leaves you laughing in some parts & applauding his vulnerability to do hard things. My husband who hates to read is reading this book now. Read it!!!’

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this at the library and just assumed it was about a military grunt. How wrong I was. How happy I was wrong.

This book was funny, sad, and best of all, set mostly in my hometown.

Cramer is a funny guy; he really should be writing full time, but hey, as long as he's happy. :)

[Josh Pickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

St Augustine folks will recognize the directions to the sewage plant. He’s a yinz guy but Cramer knows the St Augustine that I miss. Hysterical book that taught me a lot about washing cars.

[Jordan Mazur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great and very funny. You should read it.