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What's So Bad About Being Poor?: Our Lives In the Shadows of the Poverty Experts
A deeply vulnerable memoir about the life of Deborah Foster and her family, the hardships they endured, and their link to extreme poverty. Deborah is exploring common misconceptions about the causes and effects of poverty in American society through the lens of her own personal experiences. Inspired by an offensive characterization of poverty by eugenist Charles Murray, Deborah sets out to examine the flaws in Murray's argument using her own life as extended evidence of his errors in thinking. If Murray asks, "What's So Bad About Being Poor?" then Deborah is prepared to answer with many firsthand examples.
- GenresNonfiction
415 pages, Paperback
Published February 16, 2024
5 people are currently reading
967 people want to read
About the author
Deborah M. Foster
1 book10 followersDeborah M Foster is an author and academic whose work often explores the intersections of privilege, oppression, and socioeconomic class. She has written about her personal experiences with poverty and the challenges of recognizing and accepting privilege in contexts like her two chapters. Foster has also taught social policy, mental health, and human diversity, advocating for progressive social change.
Deborah M Foster is also an academic counselor with a notable background in supporting underserved and underprivileged communities. She has authored research on the challenges faced by college students with psychiatric disabilities, particularly focusing on access to mental health services and educational accommodations. Her work highlights systemic pressures in higher education, including financial stressors and the lack of adequate campus resources, which can significantly affect students with mental health challenges.
Dr. Foster is also a vocal advocate for programs like Upward Bound, which aim to support first-generation and low-income students in pursuing higher education. She has shared personal and professional insights about the profound impact of such initiatives, drawing from her own experience as a graduate of Upward Bound and later as a staff member. Her advocacy underscores the need for holistic and culturally competent support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to navigate academic and social challenges in higher education .
Deborah M Foster is also an academic counselor with a notable background in supporting underserved and underprivileged communities. She has authored research on the challenges faced by college students with psychiatric disabilities, particularly focusing on access to mental health services and educational accommodations. Her work highlights systemic pressures in higher education, including financial stressors and the lack of adequate campus resources, which can significantly affect students with mental health challenges.
Dr. Foster is also a vocal advocate for programs like Upward Bound, which aim to support first-generation and low-income students in pursuing higher education. She has shared personal and professional insights about the profound impact of such initiatives, drawing from her own experience as a graduate of Upward Bound and later as a staff member. Her advocacy underscores the need for holistic and culturally competent support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to navigate academic and social challenges in higher education .
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 31, 2025
Deborah M. Foster's What’s So Bad About Being Poor? is a gripping exploration of poverty and mental illness through the lens of her own tumultuous family history. Spanning multiple generations, the book deftly intertwines personal memoir with societal critique, offering a candid, often raw account of the struggles her family faced. Foster’s storytelling blends vivid memories, poignant observations, and biting commentary, making it both a heartfelt narrative and a call to action against systemic inequities.
What struck me most was Foster’s ability to illuminate the deep scars poverty leaves, not just on finances but on the human spirit. The opening chapters introduce us to her father, grappling with schizophrenia, and her mother, struggling with bipolar disorder. These challenges, compounded by the weight of economic instability, create an almost suffocating sense of inevitability that permeates the family's life. One particularly haunting moment involves Foster's father’s psychotic episode while serving in the Air Force, a turning point that sets the stage for the family's challenges with mental health and stigma. These moments are rendered with a stark honesty that makes them both heartbreaking and relatable.
Foster’s critique of societal attitudes toward poverty is both personal and razor-sharp. She targets the toxic ideologies of figures like Charles Murray, whose dismissal of poverty as “not so bad” fuels her lifelong determination to counter such views. The book cleverly juxtaposes Murray’s theoretical musings with Foster’s lived reality, exposing the absurdity of detached policymaking. Yet, the book isn’t all gloom. Foster finds moments of resilience and even humor in her family’s chaos. Her descriptions of her mother’s encounters with eccentric faith healers or her father’s UFO theories add a surreal, almost darkly comedic layer to the narrative. These anecdotes, while strange, serve as a reminder of the lengths people will go to find meaning and hope in desperate circumstances. Foster’s ability to weave these lighter threads into her otherwise heavy tale is a testament to her skill as a writer.
What’s So Bad About Being Poor? is as much a memoir as it is a rallying cry. Foster’s journey from a poor, marginalized child to an academic fighting against the very systems that oppressed her family is inspiring. This book is for anyone who wants to understand the lived experience of poverty beyond the numbers and policies. It’s for those who appreciate a narrative that is as fiercely intelligent as it is deeply personal. For me, it was a stark reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, even in the face of unimaginable hardship. Highly recommended.
What struck me most was Foster’s ability to illuminate the deep scars poverty leaves, not just on finances but on the human spirit. The opening chapters introduce us to her father, grappling with schizophrenia, and her mother, struggling with bipolar disorder. These challenges, compounded by the weight of economic instability, create an almost suffocating sense of inevitability that permeates the family's life. One particularly haunting moment involves Foster's father’s psychotic episode while serving in the Air Force, a turning point that sets the stage for the family's challenges with mental health and stigma. These moments are rendered with a stark honesty that makes them both heartbreaking and relatable.
Foster’s critique of societal attitudes toward poverty is both personal and razor-sharp. She targets the toxic ideologies of figures like Charles Murray, whose dismissal of poverty as “not so bad” fuels her lifelong determination to counter such views. The book cleverly juxtaposes Murray’s theoretical musings with Foster’s lived reality, exposing the absurdity of detached policymaking. Yet, the book isn’t all gloom. Foster finds moments of resilience and even humor in her family’s chaos. Her descriptions of her mother’s encounters with eccentric faith healers or her father’s UFO theories add a surreal, almost darkly comedic layer to the narrative. These anecdotes, while strange, serve as a reminder of the lengths people will go to find meaning and hope in desperate circumstances. Foster’s ability to weave these lighter threads into her otherwise heavy tale is a testament to her skill as a writer.
What’s So Bad About Being Poor? is as much a memoir as it is a rallying cry. Foster’s journey from a poor, marginalized child to an academic fighting against the very systems that oppressed her family is inspiring. This book is for anyone who wants to understand the lived experience of poverty beyond the numbers and policies. It’s for those who appreciate a narrative that is as fiercely intelligent as it is deeply personal. For me, it was a stark reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, even in the face of unimaginable hardship. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2024
Summary: 5-stars. Deborah Foster’s What’s So Bad About Being Poor is a memoir about family legacy, poverty, and personal triumph. It is a visceral and intellectual illustration of the trauma inherent in extreme childhood poverty. I was leaning heavily towards 4-stars until about the 130th page. The content and level of introspection are well worth a 5-star rating. What’s So Bad also has a remarkable level of human compassion. Highly recommended.
The book contains thoughtful insights on molestation, mental illness, the medical establishment and pharmaceuticals, rehabilitation vs. condemnation, depression and hypomania, parenthood, childhood, the interrelationship of national politics with family values, destructive charitableness, the dangers of unthoughtful professionals in authoritative positions, abuse of government authority, race relations, white flight and white racism, racism in general, housing policy, detachment, nutrition, misplaced trust in conmen, self-deception and self-realization, spiritual search, religious cults, food, and poverty, to name a few.
Quotes from the book:
“Acting scared in your own neighborhood was a good way to end up a target.”
“Now, grow up, parent. I want to be young.”
“Especially in light of the stealing, her comments were a cry for help that is easy to see in retrospect. But none of us reacted then.”
“After conducting a needs assessment of the community, it became clear that what everyone needed most was tutoring.”
“Foster children have twice the rate of PTSD as soldiers.”
“There are large numbers of people who believe the pharmaceutical industry has taken advantage of the diagnosis in such a way as to medicate generations of children rather than address social issues that might drive their symptoms.”
“Extreme poverty affects a greater portion of children in America than in several developing nations.”
“These wonderful folks and my parents prove something critical in American society that I am endlessly trying to see identified. Racism is real and it takes a toll. Classism is real and it is underappreciated.”
“It costs an estimated $10,000 per year to offer community services to an individual, while paying to keep them in jail for a year, for instance, costs approximately $35,000 per person.”
“It prolongs your suffering to refuse to accept the reality of a bad situation.
The book contains thoughtful insights on molestation, mental illness, the medical establishment and pharmaceuticals, rehabilitation vs. condemnation, depression and hypomania, parenthood, childhood, the interrelationship of national politics with family values, destructive charitableness, the dangers of unthoughtful professionals in authoritative positions, abuse of government authority, race relations, white flight and white racism, racism in general, housing policy, detachment, nutrition, misplaced trust in conmen, self-deception and self-realization, spiritual search, religious cults, food, and poverty, to name a few.
Quotes from the book:
“Acting scared in your own neighborhood was a good way to end up a target.”
“Now, grow up, parent. I want to be young.”
“Especially in light of the stealing, her comments were a cry for help that is easy to see in retrospect. But none of us reacted then.”
“After conducting a needs assessment of the community, it became clear that what everyone needed most was tutoring.”
“Foster children have twice the rate of PTSD as soldiers.”
“There are large numbers of people who believe the pharmaceutical industry has taken advantage of the diagnosis in such a way as to medicate generations of children rather than address social issues that might drive their symptoms.”
“Extreme poverty affects a greater portion of children in America than in several developing nations.”
“These wonderful folks and my parents prove something critical in American society that I am endlessly trying to see identified. Racism is real and it takes a toll. Classism is real and it is underappreciated.”
“It costs an estimated $10,000 per year to offer community services to an individual, while paying to keep them in jail for a year, for instance, costs approximately $35,000 per person.”
“It prolongs your suffering to refuse to accept the reality of a bad situation.
June 9, 2025
This is an insightful, heart-wrenching memoir about growing up poor, and the herculean effort it takes to climb out of poverty. Author Deborah Foster grew up in a fundamentalist religious family with two mentally ill parents who struggled to feed six children and keep themselves warm in winter; a family on the move, restlessly seeking better job opportunities, and hopeful for solutions to their survival issues in a world that has turned its back on the poor.
The author has faced opposition from those who believe poverty is caused by lack of effort or motivation; others who attribute poverty to fate, punishment or God’s will; and others — including American Enterprise Institute's Charles Murray-Foster — who dismiss poverty as not really as bad as people make it out to be.
In fact, this memoir is a response to Murray-Foster’s dismissal of the matter, and should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the causes of poverty and the systemic social complications which lock the poor into cyclical misery. It details the lived experience of a family struggling with unequal access to education, healthcare discrimination, and job exploitation. It reveals how lack of malnutrition impacts brain development, alters cognitive function, disturbs emotional regulation and compromises mental health outcomes. It illustrates how undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues only makes poverty worse, and could be used as a textbook for policy makers implementing social change.
One of the most sickening insights is how medical companies exploit the poor: families become so hungry they sell their blood every fortnight for $15 per bag, only to have the medical companies upsell it for hundreds of dollars.
This memoir is a long — and at times — harrowing read, but it carefully details the range of factors which lead to poverty, and paints the full picture of systemic poverty in the US. It dismantles any arguments that maintain the poor are too lazy to get themselves out of poverty. And the good news is, it reveals how a little help and encouragement from philanthropic mentors can transform lives.
The author has faced opposition from those who believe poverty is caused by lack of effort or motivation; others who attribute poverty to fate, punishment or God’s will; and others — including American Enterprise Institute's Charles Murray-Foster — who dismiss poverty as not really as bad as people make it out to be.
In fact, this memoir is a response to Murray-Foster’s dismissal of the matter, and should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the causes of poverty and the systemic social complications which lock the poor into cyclical misery. It details the lived experience of a family struggling with unequal access to education, healthcare discrimination, and job exploitation. It reveals how lack of malnutrition impacts brain development, alters cognitive function, disturbs emotional regulation and compromises mental health outcomes. It illustrates how undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues only makes poverty worse, and could be used as a textbook for policy makers implementing social change.
One of the most sickening insights is how medical companies exploit the poor: families become so hungry they sell their blood every fortnight for $15 per bag, only to have the medical companies upsell it for hundreds of dollars.
This memoir is a long — and at times — harrowing read, but it carefully details the range of factors which lead to poverty, and paints the full picture of systemic poverty in the US. It dismantles any arguments that maintain the poor are too lazy to get themselves out of poverty. And the good news is, it reveals how a little help and encouragement from philanthropic mentors can transform lives.
May 19, 2025
What I Did Like:
+Storytelling style is compelling and keeps you interested. Although footnotes exist to remind you that this is a well-researched nonfiction, it reads like a fiction story many times with characters you can follow. That’s not a knock on the story at all, quite the opposite actually.
+The footnotes show what a well researched account this is. Even though it is a first person account from someone who lived it, this author backed up those memories and comments with facts and data. It’s incredibly well done.
+The author tells all the down and dirty details about growing up in a life of poverty and what that meant for her situation but she also manages to highlight a lot of overarching concepts in wonderful ways. She’s shining a light here as a first person example and it’s well written.
Who Should Read This One:
-This could be important for a lot of readers: those wondering about poverty, planning to make laws about poverty, working with others in poverty, or just looking for the experiences of others.
My Rating: 4 Stars
A well researched and well written book.
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2025/05/...
+Storytelling style is compelling and keeps you interested. Although footnotes exist to remind you that this is a well-researched nonfiction, it reads like a fiction story many times with characters you can follow. That’s not a knock on the story at all, quite the opposite actually.
+The footnotes show what a well researched account this is. Even though it is a first person account from someone who lived it, this author backed up those memories and comments with facts and data. It’s incredibly well done.
+The author tells all the down and dirty details about growing up in a life of poverty and what that meant for her situation but she also manages to highlight a lot of overarching concepts in wonderful ways. She’s shining a light here as a first person example and it’s well written.
Who Should Read This One:
-This could be important for a lot of readers: those wondering about poverty, planning to make laws about poverty, working with others in poverty, or just looking for the experiences of others.
My Rating: 4 Stars
A well researched and well written book.
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2025/05/...
May 31, 2025
Deborah M. Foster shares her life growing up in a poor family dealing with serious mental health challenges. Her story is honest, emotional, and sometimes heartbreaking. She writes about living in unsafe conditions, facing abuse, and feeling invisible—but also about finding comfort in books and eventually building a new life through education.
What makes this book stand out is how Foster compares her real-life struggles with what so-called “poverty experts” say. She pushes back against people who speak about poverty without ever living it. Her words are personal, thoughtful, and make you really think about how society treats the poor.
Despite the heavy topics, there are moments of hope and even humor. Foster’s journey shows strength, survival, and the power of speaking your truth.
Despite its heavy themes, there are flashes of dark humor and moments of beauty—proof of the resilience that poverty never quite managed to erase. Foster’s voice is fierce, intelligent, and emotionally precise.
This is not a feel-good read. It’s a necessary one.
What makes this book stand out is how Foster compares her real-life struggles with what so-called “poverty experts” say. She pushes back against people who speak about poverty without ever living it. Her words are personal, thoughtful, and make you really think about how society treats the poor.
Despite the heavy topics, there are moments of hope and even humor. Foster’s journey shows strength, survival, and the power of speaking your truth.
Despite its heavy themes, there are flashes of dark humor and moments of beauty—proof of the resilience that poverty never quite managed to erase. Foster’s voice is fierce, intelligent, and emotionally precise.
This is not a feel-good read. It’s a necessary one.
June 12, 2025
I thought this book was well written, and I enjoyed her citations. I definitely am not completely in line with Deborah, but this broadened my perspective and had me thinking through situations and views I hadn't considered before. I do relate to a lot of the fundamentalist religion comments. I like that she advocated for more mental health resources. And sadly, I believe its true that those on government assistance are not given equal mental health care. Overall, I think most of us are a product of our parents until we (hopefully) gain self-awareness and healing. As my psychologist reminded me, all kids, even mine, will need to go to therapy to heal from parent wounds. I can't be the perfect parent, my goal should be to be "good enough". As someone who has a heart for kids in poverty, I hope to be that safe adult who helps to be a stepping stone for a change in trajectory.
June 14, 2025
I read this book because I grew up poor. The author proved to me once again that if I thought I had it hard, I should wait a little, and I will find someone who had it harder. I was shocked at some of the things the author and her family had to overcome to live. I agreed with most of what the author said in the second half of the book about helping people overcome poverty. Whether you grew up in poverty or not, this book will shock you and educate you. Along the way, it will also entertain you.
October 7, 2025
Congratulations on this incredible achievement! The B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers’ Appreciation Group) is a prestigious recognition, and it speaks volumes about the quality and appeal of WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT BEING POOR?: Our Lives in the Shadows of the Poverty Experts by Deborah M. Foster. This honor places it among a distinguished group of award-winning, reader-recommended works.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews