Shelter

By Bobby Burns

Book Overview

Bobby Burns arrived in Tucson, Arizona, with a few dollars in his pocket and no place to live. Without family, without a job, he had nowhere to go but a homeless shelter. How did a college graduate find himself so close to life on the streets? In a voice that is startling for its simplicity and utter honesty, Burns tells the story of how he slipped into homelessness, how he learned what it means to live in a place where nobody will notice if you disappear, and how he emerged to tell his story. Bobby's diary of 41 days without a home brings readers into the world of a homeless shelter.

Shelter is filled with the sights and sounds of homelessness. Shelter life is patterned by meals provided by church volunteers, lines for soap and clean towels, the repeated meticulous washing of hands by an obsessive-compulsive resident, the rare pleasure of a fried chicken dinner, the illicit smell of marijuana within the shelter. Burns witnesses the residents' struggles with drugs, alcohol, and disability, and he wonders daily whether he will have the courage to emerge from this life. Bobby's diary expresses the full range of emotions of a homeless person: anger, self-pity, pride, humility, shame, depression, and optimism. These are not contradictions; taken together they represent the real feelings provoked by homelessness.

But with rare inner courage, Bobby stokes the fires of hope within himself, marking the days in his journal to keep himself from sliding deeper into a spiral of despair. Bobby confronts his own stereotypes about the homeless and learns firsthand what it means to struggle daily for survival and for dignity. He learns greater courage and he learns greater kindness. He is given food and a bed for 41 days, but he finds shelter on his own, deep within himself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816518629
• ISBN13: 9780816518623
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Length: 125 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

This IS life in a shelter

Ever wonder what being homeless and living in a shelter really means? Read this book. It is amazing! It captures everything about a shelter--the smells, the volunteers, the other guests, the managers, the misconceptions, etc. This should be required reading for every person in America, especially those who say they want to help end homelessness.

From Bobby Burns, author of SHELTER

I wrote SHELTER to show what homelessness feels and looks like from the inside of a homeless shelter in Tucson, Arizona. It was important for me to be honest about what landed me in a homeless shelter a few years ago. In SHELTER, I write about men who shared the same address: 300 E. Benson Hwy. Their stories gave me courage and hope. This experience taught me that I am no better than Joe homeless. I came away educated about the problems and issues of homelessness. My education continues today in a advocacy role. I serve on the Primavera Foundation Board of Directors, a local homeless non profit organization in Tucson. Five things you can do to help the homeless in your city: 1. Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen. 2. Teach a homeless child how to read. 3. Write letters to the editor on behalf of the homeless in your local newspaper. 4. Hire the homeless. 5. Volunteer at a Homeless Shelter.Let's fight homelessness together.Thanks!Bobby Burns END

This book is a good read!

SHELTER offers a new refreshing look at homelessness. The author writes about a wide range of issues in simple English. This book will offer many people hope. Society should read SHELTER. I came away with a different perspective about homelessness.

Great Read!

SHELTER offers a new refreshinh look at homelessness. The book will offer many people hope. The author writes about a wide range of issues in simple ENGLISH. Society should read Shelter. I came away with a different perspective about homelessness.