It is impossible to discuss the without addressing the controversy surrounding the book. Shepard’s experiment was a direct response to Barbara Ehrenreich’s famous book, Nickel and Dimed . Ehrenreich, a journalist, attempted a similar experiment but concluded that the American Dream was unattainable for the working poor. Shepard, conversely, concluded that with hard work and discipline, it was attainable.

Shepard does not glamorize homelessness. The PDF contains long passages about the smell of the shelter, the paranoia of having his sleeping bag stolen, and the soul-crushing repetition of factory work. He writes:

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Within one year, he aimed to have $2,500 in savings , a working car, and a furnished apartment.