My Life in the Slump

Length21m

Summary

My Life in the Slump chronicles the lived realities of Americans navigating economic upheaval from 2008 to 2022. From Maria Hernández losing her job at a Cleveland tool factory in 2008 to Bill Zhang grappling with Social Security in Philadelphia in 2022, the book captures ten distinct, scene-driven stories. Readers meet Mike Turner, a steelworker facing a 2009 union strike in Youngstown; Rosa Jiménez, a Miami chef burned during a hectic kitchen shift in 2011; Elias Walker, evicted from Detroit housing in 2013; Andrea Liu, pitching a Silicon Valley startup in 2014; and Pastor Jamal Brooks, managing a Harlem food pantry surge in 2016. It explores Jasmine Lee’s 2018 college acceptance stress in Raleigh, offshore oil rig challenges in 2019 with Greg Patel, shelter work under COVID-19 through Erin Miller, and finally, retirement struggles with inflation in 2022.