“DON’T believe the naysayers. The American Dream—the fable that says if you work hard and follow the rules, you’ll make it—is alive and well.” — New York Post   Adam W. Shepard’s Scratch Beginnings is the fascinating and eye-opening account of the grand social experiment the author undertook in response to Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. Subtitled “Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream,” Scratch Beginnings chronicles Shepard’s successful efforts to raise himself up from self-imposed rock bottom in one year’s time—a personal odyssey that is sure to inspire anyone who reads about it, instilling new faith in the solid principles on which our democracy was built. “Adam Shepard’s is a refreshing and inspiring account that is one giant step headed in the right direction . . .His refreshingly thoughtful and open and positive attitude as he recounts his experiences in Scratch Beginnings is not meant to remind us of our limitations--it is instead an invitation to use what we do already have to search for another way, to make new dreams, to rebirth our American dreams.” - Boomer Coffee House “DON’T believe the naysayers. The American Dream―the fable that says if you work hard and follow the rules, you’ll make it―is alive and well.” - New York Post What can you get with $25 and a dream? Adam Shepard graduated from college feeling disillusioned by the apathy around him and was then incensed after reading Barbara Ehrenreich's famous work Nickel and Dimed —a book that gave him a feeling of hopelessness about the working class in America. He set out to disprove Ehrenreich's theory—the notion that those who start at the bottom stay at the bottom—by making something out of nothing to achieve the American Dream. Shepard's plan was simple. With a sleeping bag, the clothes on his back, and $25 in cash, and restricted from using his contacts or college education, he headed out for Charleston, South Carolina, a randomly selected city with one objective: to work his way out of homelessness and into a life that would give him the opportunity for success. His goal was to have, after one year, $2,500, a working automobile, and a furnished apartment. Scratch Beginnings is the earnest and passionate account of Shepard's struggle to overcome the pressures placed on the homeless. His story will not only inspire readers but will also remind them that success can come to anyone who is willing to work hard—and that America is still one of the most hopeful countries in the world. Adam Shepard is a 2006 graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, where he majored in business management and Spanish. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.