Recalibrating the American Dream for the 2020s

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Dale Maharidge has spent his career documenting the downward spiral of the American working class. For increasing numbers of people in the 2020s, poverty is both reality and destiny, and as Maharidge discovers spray-painted inside an abandoned gas station in the California desert, it is often a fate handed down from birth.

Motivated by this haunting phrase—"Fucked at Birth"—Maharidge explores the realities of being poor in America in the coming decade, as pandemic, economic crisis and social revolution up-end the country. Part raw memoir, part dogged, investigative journalism, Fucked At Birth channels the history of poverty in America to help inform the voices Maharidge encounters daily. In an unprecedented time of social activism amid economic crisis, when voices everywhere are rising up for change, Maharidge's journey channels the spirits of George Orwell and James Agee, raising questions about class, privilege, and the very concept of "upward mobility," while serving as a final call to action.

As Kirkus Reviews states in their STARRED REVIEW, this book is "a sharp wake-up call to heed the new Depression and to recognize the humanity of those hit hardest." From Sacramento to Denver, Youngstown to New York City, Fucked At Birth dares readers to see themselves in those suffering most, and to finally—after decades of refusal—recalibrate what we are going to do about it.

Sarah Smarsh, author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, praises Maharidge's work, stating that "his honed class awareness—unrivaled among contemporary journalists—reveals that today's confluent health, economic and social crises are the logical conclusion to generations of unvalidated, untreated despair in a wealthy nation. Forget hollow commentary from detached television news studios in New York City. Fucked at Birth is the truth."

This book, ripped from the headlines, delves into the realities of the Black Lives Matter movement, the emptying of once-thriving downtowns as office and service workers struggle, and the broader feeling of a lack of safety that pervades the nation. As Maharidge observes, "the feeling of safety is folly" - a sobering reminder that the challenges facing the most vulnerable in our society are far from over.

Through his powerful storytelling and unflinching journalism, Maharidge invites readers to confront the harsh truths of poverty in America, to recognize the humanity in those facing the steepest hills to climb, and to consider what actions we must take to create a more equitable future. Fucked At Birth is a clarion call to heed the lessons of the past and to work collectively towards a more just and compassionate society.

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