A review by nanikeeva
This Is All I Got: A New Mother's Search for Home by Lauren Sandler

5.0

absolutely incredible. "she could only survive if she pushed back, but pushing back branded her unworthy of charity - was she only worthy of help if she was otherwise completely helpless?" "she cultivated her image to be respected by all people at all times, be the smartest girl in the class... carefully she struck an intentional balance of the self revelation necessary to develop intimacy, and the self protection she believed she needed to maintain that respect. nobody needed to know her business, and there was a lot she deemed private." "when existence is a perpetual emergency, decisions are made in the moment, in isolation. there's no time to thoughtfully evaluate, because everything is a rescue mission"

at the same time, the hypocrisy of the author as she repeatedly makes excuses for drawing boundaries, adding "we'd never know how the story would go!" is truly disgusting. even her child understands the need to help folks in need.