Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class

In an early essay in her latest collection, Smarsh (Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth) examines the unaffordability of dental treatments in the United States. She feels that, given the social scorn that comes with neglecting one’s teeth, this conundrum is emblematic of general American contempt for the poor. Although well-educated and professionally successful, Smarsh finds it difficult to slake off the long-term effects of living in survival mode for years. She fleshes out James Baldwin’s oft-quoted adage that it is “extremely expensive to be poor.” Her examples include harsh overdraft fees, the accrual of credit card debt to pay for necessities on a minimum wage income, and college graduates entering the marketplace saddled with student loans. She reminds readers that American poverty is everywhere. While she sometimes risks repetition, as when she lists her bona fides with each new essay, her insights are a welcome antidote to the broad strokes painted by the media.