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A review by hannahglenn
Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl Wudunn
2.0
DNF at page 222. I started out really impressed with this book but that dwindled the more I read. I think this book could be excellent for people who want to learn more about poverty and substance use— but it is very left-leaning and that could be a turn off to many. But also approach this book with a critical lens. Don’t allow it to be truth, but allow it to inform your opinions and arguments.
A few issues I have:
1. I felt uneasy reading this book written by Ivy League educated New York Times writers about the despair of families they grew up with. I think personal stories add a richness to topics such as this, but I hope hope hope hope that Kristof and WuDunn provide some form of compensation the Knapp and Green families. The way they depict the lives of these families is dark, grim, and they capture the plight they’ve endured across generations— but it appears that these highly educated folks with considerable amounts of privilege will profit off of these families’ intergenerational trauma. I hope they don’t simply tell the stories of these families’ poverty and collect royalties without sharing them. They are in a position to lift the Knapp and Green families, beyond the hope for policy change mentioned in the acknowledgements.
2. While discussing race, the authors use “blacks” and “whites”. This is outdated, especially for a book published in 2020. “Black people” and “white people” is how this should be written.
3. The authors discuss the Bootstraps ideology and why it’s not possible— but also place an emphasis on personal responsibility and bad choices made by these individuals who graciously agreed to be interviewed. These seem contradictory to me. They discuss individuals choosing to relapse as a bad choice but don’t examine WHY someone would make that decision. Perhaps this is my training in psychology, but I see PTSD and feelings of helplessness rather than a poor choices to and lack of attention to how addiction works. I was most put off by the authors blatant disproval of Marquita Abbott choosing to use housing vouchers on a $1300 a month two bedroom apartment. Perhaps this woman was adamant on a two bedroom apartment because she just spent one year living in a homeless shelter with her child. The rooms in shelters are smaller than US dorm rooms— I can’t fault her for wanting space and some privacy.
4. I began to hit the end of my ability to read this book at the suggestion of wives being probation officers for their husbands and then on the same paragraph talking about recidivism and disparities in “success” between married and never-married Black men. Albeit unintentional on the authors’ part, this strikes me as racist. Their implicit biases are glaring here. Later in the chapter they discuss low-income men being less attractive marriage partners. The ideas in this chapter embody very traditional values. Frankly I hope no woman I know is her husband’s probation officer and I hope that men recognize that their income does not determine their worth as a husband.
A few issues I have:
1. I felt uneasy reading this book written by Ivy League educated New York Times writers about the despair of families they grew up with. I think personal stories add a richness to topics such as this, but I hope hope hope hope that Kristof and WuDunn provide some form of compensation the Knapp and Green families. The way they depict the lives of these families is dark, grim, and they capture the plight they’ve endured across generations— but it appears that these highly educated folks with considerable amounts of privilege will profit off of these families’ intergenerational trauma. I hope they don’t simply tell the stories of these families’ poverty and collect royalties without sharing them. They are in a position to lift the Knapp and Green families, beyond the hope for policy change mentioned in the acknowledgements.
2. While discussing race, the authors use “blacks” and “whites”. This is outdated, especially for a book published in 2020. “Black people” and “white people” is how this should be written.
3. The authors discuss the Bootstraps ideology and why it’s not possible— but also place an emphasis on personal responsibility and bad choices made by these individuals who graciously agreed to be interviewed. These seem contradictory to me. They discuss individuals choosing to relapse as a bad choice but don’t examine WHY someone would make that decision. Perhaps this is my training in psychology, but I see PTSD and feelings of helplessness rather than a poor choices to and lack of attention to how addiction works. I was most put off by the authors blatant disproval of Marquita Abbott choosing to use housing vouchers on a $1300 a month two bedroom apartment. Perhaps this woman was adamant on a two bedroom apartment because she just spent one year living in a homeless shelter with her child. The rooms in shelters are smaller than US dorm rooms— I can’t fault her for wanting space and some privacy.
4. I began to hit the end of my ability to read this book at the suggestion of wives being probation officers for their husbands and then on the same paragraph talking about recidivism and disparities in “success” between married and never-married Black men. Albeit unintentional on the authors’ part, this strikes me as racist. Their implicit biases are glaring here. Later in the chapter they discuss low-income men being less attractive marriage partners. The ideas in this chapter embody very traditional values. Frankly I hope no woman I know is her husband’s probation officer and I hope that men recognize that their income does not determine their worth as a husband.