Customer Reviews

Growing Up Empty: The Hunger Epidemic in America

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There are some people in our country who probably would refuse to believe that the stories Schwartz-Noble tells are real and even if they did believe they were real, they'd find a way to blame the poor completely for their plight. While it is true that our choices do have a strong influence on our fates, sometimes, as this book shows, some people are working from nothing, with nothing, but we expect them to somehow pull it off. If we all thought about how some people live, and particularly, how some children grow up, which this book forces you to do (but not in a preachy way), we'd finally probably do something to help the poor in a meaningful, permanent way. This book will break your heart, but it is the dose of awareness about the struggles of the poor that every American should be required to confront. Read it, be enlightened and take some action.

This book was part of a project in school. I have been back to school for over a year and this is the first time that I felt so passionate about something I was reading. Even though some of the stories are horrific, I really felt moved to do something about this awful epidemic. We see commercials on TV or magazines about helping the hungry in other countries. These are very noble causes. But what about America? There are millions of people in our own country, so many of them children, who don't know where their next meal will come from. It really shows the sad truth of what is happening in America. So much food in this country is wasted (www.secondharvest.org) and people are starving, yet there is also a problem with obesity in this country. I work for WA state and work in a welfare office. Many things the book states are true, and frustrating for me as a worker, and I know for so many of the clients we are supposed to be helping. I urge those of you who are thinking of buying this book, please do. It is a wonderful read, but be prepared with a box of tissue if you are soft at heart. Some parts are tear jerking.

I just finished reading this book and I must say it's one of the most influential books I've ever read. I knew there are starving people in America, but the sheer number is almost unbelievable. Let's tell our politicians to stop trying to garner more votes by the sob stories they tell about developing nations needing food, and to start saving the lives of our hungry friends and neighbors.

You can't put this book down. It is heartbreaking and makes you take action. First thing Monday morning, I'm going to deliver a load of food to the local food bank and ask about volunteering there. It is frustrating to realize that I cannot do too much to solve the overall problem, thinking that it is better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish.The stories in the book are also frustrating because there are a lot of unanswered questions. The middle-class woman whose doctor husband left her- why couldn't she rent out part of the house and get some money? And then rent another room at a reduced rate to a student, with partial exchange for child care. Then she can work or go to school. I was also intrigued by the army man whose children are starving. Meanwhile, he is smoking cigarettes. (They are expensive!)

After waiting weeks for this book, I finally contacted the seller. They asked me to look around and to check and see if anyone around me had picked it up. As if I hadn't looked for this book everyday in the mail for the past month. I live on 15 acres with my husband so I was sure nobody had picked it up. I now get a refund and have to start over! I needed the book in the beginning of September for a class. Am I happy with my purchase? That would be a - NO!