Bittersweet Lane: Creating Home(s) in the American Affordable Housing Crisis

by Jamie Madden

The Bitter Reality. The Sweet Solutions. The Lane Forward.

Housing dominates headlines, yet few truly understand how affordable housing works—or why it’s failing. Bittersweet Lane is the first book to demystify America’s housing crisis from both a professional and deeply personal perspective.

Written by a community development professional with expertise in housing development and public policy, Madden blends gripping memoir with sharp policy insights to expose the brutal history of housing in the U.S.—and the tools we already have to fix it. Spanning from Ireland to America, from the Bittersweet Lane Apartments to M.I.T., Bittersweet Lane also carries the stories and deep scars of intergenerational poverty while offering a bold vision for change.

A raw, eye-opening journey through class, race, and urban development, Bittersweet Lane offers:
A class-crossing insider’s perspective—from housing insecurity to shaping policy.
A clear breakdown of affordable housing—without the jargon.
Real solutions to the crisis—and why we haven’t implemented them.

Though the barriers to housing justice seem insurmountable, the solutions are within reach. Bittersweet Lane doesn’t just explain the crisis—it shows how we can all find home.

Genres: Memoir, Audiobook

400 pages, Hardcover

Published November 18, 2025

Reviews

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet Lane shined in so many ways. Clear, concise, engaging writing whether it was Jamie sharing his experiences which shaped his career as an affordable housing devloper/policy person or his detailed (yet interesting-hard to do) breakdown of the affordable housing development process or his thoughts on fixing the affordable rental and homeownerships systems. As someone in the community development field, I wish this book was around when I started in my career.

If you are looking for a text book on affordable housing development this is not it. If you are looking to understand the lived experiences of affordable housing families; mission-based people in the affordable housing field and challenges to get affordable housing built-this this is the perfect read.

[Andrew Stobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, wonderfully written, insightful. By the end of this book, you will know (and feel) far more about the housing crisis.

[Patrick Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet Lane is a remarkable book, part memoir, part guidebook for creating affordable housing, and all a bracing call for change. This book makes clear in no uncertain terms how housing insecurity and homelessness are policy choices and how we can choose a different path. Jamie Madden's writing takes in a sweep of history, from colonial Massachusetts to Ireland at the height of An Gorta Mór to contemporary Seattle, and tackles everything you want to know about the history and political battles around affordable housing in the U.S. This book is both a celebration of the professionals and communities doing everything they can to keep people housed and a searing indictment of a social/political system and set of values that have refused to create the housing we all need. I highly recommend Bittersweet Lane for anyone looking to build a better world.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly compelling story of the author's life, it's intersection with housing affordability and how and why we must provide homes for all. Beautifully written and heart-wrenching.