summary ofNickel and DimedBook by Barbara Ehrenreich

first KEY POINT

A working lunch leads to a journey of enlightenment

It was a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary. Barbara Ehrenreich had met up with Lewis Lapham, the editor of Harper’s magazine to talk about work. They were enjoying lunch, chatting about article ideas, when everything suddenly changed.Somehow, the conversation moved toward the topic of poverty and how people living on low wages managed to make ends meet. Ehrenreich innocently mused that someone should go undercover and try it for themselves, to see how it really works. Of course, she didn’t mean it literally, and she didn’t mean herself. Yet, Lapham’s face went from passive to enthralled. It was decided that Ehrenreich’s next task would be to go undercover in the world of low paid labor within the USA.

Ehrenreich didn’t come from rich family background, but she wasn’t poor either. Her father was a copper miner, as many of her ancestors were. She felt that she was privileged to earn a living as a writer. However, she had a pull towards finding out whether someone with a low-income job, perhaps a single mother trying to pay rent, juggle childcare payments, and everything else that life throws at her could actually survive and live a life resembling some kind of joy.