{"product_id":"book-cnlc","title":"Heartland","description":"\u003cb\u003e*Finalist for the National Book Award*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e*Finalist for the Kirkus Prize*\u003cbr\u003e *Instant \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eBestseller*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e *\u003cb\u003eNamed a Best Book of the Year by NPR,\u003ci\u003e New York Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBustle\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn essential read for our times: an eye-opening memoir of working-class poverty in America that will deepen our understanding of the ways in which class shapes our country and “a deeply humane memoir that crackles with clarifying insight”.*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSarah Smarsh was born a fifth generation Kansas wheat farmer on her paternal side, and the product of generations of teen mothers on her maternal side. Through her experiences growing up on a farm thirty miles west of Wichita, we are given a unique and essential look into the lives of poor and working class Americans living in the heartland.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eDuring Sarah’s turbulent childhood in Kansas in the 1980s and 1990s, she enjoyed the freedom of a country childhood, but observed the painful challenges of the poverty around her; untreated medical conditions for lack of insurance or consistent care, unsafe job conditions, abusive relationships, and limited resources and information that would provide for the upward mobility that is the American Dream. By telling the story of her life and the lives of the people she loves with clarity and precision but without judgement, Smarsh challenges us to look more closely at the class divide in our country.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBeautifully written, in a distinctive voice, \u003ci\u003eHeartland\u003c\/i\u003e combines personal narrative with powerful analysis and cultural commentary, challenging\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe myths about people thought to be less because they earn less.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eHeartland\u003c\/i\u003e is one of a growing number of important works—including Matthew Desmond’s \u003ci\u003eEvicted\u003c\/i\u003e and Amy Goldstein’s \u003ci\u003eJanesville\u003c\/i\u003e—that together merit their own section in nonfiction aisles across the country: America’s postindustrial decline...Smarsh shows how the false promise of the ‘American dream’ was used to subjugate the poor. It’s a powerful mantra” *(\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e).","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49347199500592,"sku":"BDcnlc","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD [10]","offer_id":49347199533360,"sku":"10cnlc","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/cnlc-Square-cover.jpg?v=1773687189","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-cnlc","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}