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D.W.B.: Driving While Broke...and Other Crimes Poor People Commit
A collection of humorous, heartwarming and outrageous personal essays recounting the many unfortunate experiences of Citizen Jane, the fictitious name of a working-poor freelance writer living somewhere in America with her family.
Here, you'll find humorless cops, busted cars, adventures in minimum wage, crazy home repairs, and even an explosion or two. Sadly, everything you'll read is completely true—and it's still happening, all across the country.
Some of the stories include:
* Can't I Just Give You the Ten Bucks?
* Don't Shoot, Officer!
* It's Just ONE Bone...
* Big Girls Don't Cry
...and many more.
It is Citizen Jane's fondest hope that those who read her story will find some common ground, no matter what income classification they happen to fall into. Rich, poor, or somewhere in between, we all have a life to live, and a story to tell.
Here, you'll find humorless cops, busted cars, adventures in minimum wage, crazy home repairs, and even an explosion or two. Sadly, everything you'll read is completely true—and it's still happening, all across the country.
Some of the stories include:
* Can't I Just Give You the Ten Bucks?
* Don't Shoot, Officer!
* It's Just ONE Bone...
* Big Girls Don't Cry
...and many more.
It is Citizen Jane's fondest hope that those who read her story will find some common ground, no matter what income classification they happen to fall into. Rich, poor, or somewhere in between, we all have a life to live, and a story to tell.
57 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 1, 2014
The Working Poor in Bas Relief
While there were some rueful smiles (usually when I recognized myself in her tales), Citizen Jane does indeed drive her main point home: that when faced with the choice of laugh or cry, usually the working poor do... both.
DWB reminds you of the days when you wrote checks for money that wasn't quite in the bank yet, weighed buying food versus paying for the electricity to cook it with, and prayed that being behind your bills was the worst thing that would happen to you this month.
Most people who haven't been in the situation simply cannot grasp what it's like. And many who have lived the nightmare that is being a member of the working poor have forgotten. Yet Citizen Jane doesn't ask for pity or look for a miracle to fall into her lap. She and her family make do with what they have and work hard and make hard decisions, dealing with their reality while carrying the hope that one day things will get better.
The rules we were raised under, that anyone who worked hard enough long enough could accomplish anything they wanted - including climbing out of the poor class - those rules are pretty useless today. Trickle Down Economics never quite seems to trickle down. As a result the desire to strive is slowly being bred out of us, not because we're naturally lazy, but because all the reasons to strive have disappeared.
Yet the working poor keep going. Because often there is no alternative.
As I said in the beginning, this book provokes some rueful laughter, but mostly it is a kind of group therapy - "Hi, my name is Jane, and I am poor." It reminds us of where we were (or still are) and asks us never to forget. Never to give up. And never stop working to change things so that we all have a chance once again at the American Dream.
While there were some rueful smiles (usually when I recognized myself in her tales), Citizen Jane does indeed drive her main point home: that when faced with the choice of laugh or cry, usually the working poor do... both.
DWB reminds you of the days when you wrote checks for money that wasn't quite in the bank yet, weighed buying food versus paying for the electricity to cook it with, and prayed that being behind your bills was the worst thing that would happen to you this month.
Most people who haven't been in the situation simply cannot grasp what it's like. And many who have lived the nightmare that is being a member of the working poor have forgotten. Yet Citizen Jane doesn't ask for pity or look for a miracle to fall into her lap. She and her family make do with what they have and work hard and make hard decisions, dealing with their reality while carrying the hope that one day things will get better.
The rules we were raised under, that anyone who worked hard enough long enough could accomplish anything they wanted - including climbing out of the poor class - those rules are pretty useless today. Trickle Down Economics never quite seems to trickle down. As a result the desire to strive is slowly being bred out of us, not because we're naturally lazy, but because all the reasons to strive have disappeared.
Yet the working poor keep going. Because often there is no alternative.
As I said in the beginning, this book provokes some rueful laughter, but mostly it is a kind of group therapy - "Hi, my name is Jane, and I am poor." It reminds us of where we were (or still are) and asks us never to forget. Never to give up. And never stop working to change things so that we all have a chance once again at the American Dream.
April 11, 2012
I enjoyed the series of "short stories" but I thought that each could have used more insight. Maybe even splitting the book up - saving stories about dealing with utility companies or employers into a completely different book and reserving this one for stories that just involved cars (or transportation generally) - which I think is a major access point for additional harm that comes to the working poor.
Especially critical is that each story was true. I think to really wake up "the comfortable" (which I consider myself a part of) to the challenges faced by the working poor the inclusion of those situations that resonate is key. For example, when Citizen Jane goes to the welfare office. I've been in that situation - not there to get welfare, but just some paperwork I needed - and to see people just sitting there, eternally. The endless, frustrating bureaucracy.
I appreciated the reminder that we don't know where people are coming from, and that we should all act accordingly.
Especially critical is that each story was true. I think to really wake up "the comfortable" (which I consider myself a part of) to the challenges faced by the working poor the inclusion of those situations that resonate is key. For example, when Citizen Jane goes to the welfare office. I've been in that situation - not there to get welfare, but just some paperwork I needed - and to see people just sitting there, eternally. The endless, frustrating bureaucracy.
I appreciated the reminder that we don't know where people are coming from, and that we should all act accordingly.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews