Nickel and dimed : on (not) getting by in America - Barbara Ehrenreich

I'm not even sure how I found this book or why. The author goes under-cover as an unskilled labourer in different towns to find out how the other half lives. She then comes back to her regular life and supplements her first-hand experiences with data a research from other sources to demonstrate just how hard life is on the working poor.

What I found far more interesting was the personal annecdotes that illustrated how people in unfortunate situations lie to make themselves feel better about the things that are wrong in their lives. For the record, I'm not saying this is wrong (I've done it myself, on more than one occasion); I actually think that it's not only a great survival mechanism, but it also says something strong and sweet about the human spirit when we are able to find a silver lining in abysmal conditions.