"Not everyone living in a distressed neighborhood is associated with gang members, parole officers, employers, social workers, or pastors. But nearly all of them have a landlord.”

As I was reading this book, I couldn't stop the overwhelming sense of shame I felt about how little I knew about the cycle of poverty and eviction. Having taken the stability of a home for granted for my entire life, I guess I simply thought of a home as a have or have not. Either one has a home or is homeless; I did not even consider the limbo of eviction.

Following these 8 Milwaukee families was devastating and eye-opening. It's hard not to love people that Desmond writes about the way that you may love your family, recognizing the good and the bad, feeling endless frustration towards their bad decisions, and just wanting to protect them however you can. For a research-driven project, this book is poignant and flows easily. Desmond removes himself from the characters until the very end, finally elucidating his role in their lives and the way that he conducted his research. I can't imagine the weight he carries upon leaving these families behind to continue living his life; it must be similar to the way I feel each time I leave the walls of a prison.

I don't know what to do with the knowledge that I've gained through reading Desmond's book. The more I read about social issues, the more I understand how interconnected all of our societal issues are: healthcare, mass incarceration, housing, the opioid epidemic, and most other issues plaguing America are more related than they originally appear. Evicted definitely pushed me further towards macro social work and is another book that I plan to recommend every opportunity I get.