In this memoir, Michelle Kennedy tells firsthand how she went from student-with-a-future to waitress unable to support herself and three children on a basic salary. She makes it clear how close one is to falling into a hole--just a few paychecks away--and how hard it is to pull out. She tells what it is like to live everyday at the bottom, and how she found that when she reached out for support, there was none to be found. Kennedy assesses the real costs of poverty, as many things become more expensive, and simple things that would ameliorate her suffering remain just out of reach. She encounters people she never dreamed she would meet, and her perspective changes greatly. Eventually, Kennedy climbs out of the hole, and becomes a writer for Salon.com, where this book had its genesis as an article. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.