Tell Them Who I Am [Paperback]

Elliot Liebow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1993

In 1984, Liebow left his position as director of anthropological research at the National Institute of Mental Health to undergo treatment for cancer. He also volunteered to work at local soup kitchens and homeless shelters, where he conducted the research for this book. Here the author of Tally's Corner investigates and documents the patterns and routines of homeless women.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Liebow ( Talley's Corner ) here succeeds in demolishing the anonymity of the homeless. Skillfully blending a social scientist's objectivity with humanitarian concern, he observes women who live in a variety of shelters near Washington, D.C.--how they interact with one another, family and shelter staff; pass their days; and struggle to retain their dignity in the face of rejection by society. Liebow maintains that homelessness is a Catch-22, with few ways out; that homeless women are remarkably supportive of one another; that shelter workers are often dedicated, but also scared and autocratic in spite of their best intentions; that the men in these women's lives seldom offer help; and that homeless mothers are propelled by ties, however flimsy, to their children. Liebow's probing and morally honest report reveals hard truths about the humanity and inhumanity of us all.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A moving and illuminating study of women living in homeless shelters. Anthropologist Liebow (Catholic University of America) is the author of Talley's Corner (1967), a study of black street-corner life that's still read by college students. Here, he uses the same participant-observer technique he used before, acting as a volunteer in shelters around Washington, D.C., and as a recorder of homeless women's lives and feelings. In most cases, he tells us, women are turned out of shelters at 7:00 a.m. and are not allowed to return until 12 hours later. Some roam the streets all day, killing time. Some have only an hour or so before they're due at jobs that usually pay them too little to live on, let alone save for housing. Others spend their days traveling from one social- service agency to another in search of housing subsidies, food stamps, job leads, or training opportunities. Some homeless women are bright and educated, others are mildly handicapped, physically or mentally, but able to function in society. Still others are mentally and emotionally disturbed but--or so Liebow believes--no more so than most people would be living under the same stresses. The women are able to deal best with their disorganized and difficult lives in shelters that provide beds, food, laundry, and bathing facilities, as well as a nonjudgmental atmosphere. Each woman Liebow questions has a different story to tell about why she's homeless--many have been laid off from jobs and lost their apartments or homes, some had husbands who deserted them or kicked them out. Particularly eye-opening is a chapter on the fear that plagues not only the women who are served by the shelters but the women who serve them. A thoughtful and informative inside-look at homelessness, supporting Liebow's conclusion that ``homeless people are homeless because they do not have a place to live.'' -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 339 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; First Edition edition (March 12, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0029190959
• ISBN-13: 978-0029190951
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > Poverty > Homelessness

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liebow brings humanness to the lives of the homeless., April 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women (Mass Market Paperback)

Tell Them Who I Am is a tale about several homeless women and one non-homeless man. For all its merits as an ethnography of women's shelters, which are many, one of the most endearing things about this book is its author. In 1984 Elliot Liebow found out he had terminal cancer. He promptly quit his job at the National Institute of Mental Health and headed for the soup kitchens and shelters of a small city outside of Washington, D.C. Taking notes "out of habit" he gradually compiled his thoughts (and those of his informants) as he got to know the women of these shelters. His participant-observation approach led him to be very involved as an actor in the lives of the women he met, and they too became involved in the writing of their stories. The result is a fascinating book which details the trials of homelessness alongside the joys and sorrows of being human

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tell Them Who I Am, April 27, 2000

By 

Virginia Sanders (Indiana, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women (Mass Market Paperback)

With his book, Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women, Elliot Liebow has done an excellent job of putting the facts of shelter life together. His research was not done in a far away library with his nose in a book, rather he learned first hand by working in women's shelters and soup kitchens in Washington DC. In his book, he explores the multitude of ways that "the humanity of the women is under constant threat" and gives the reader an in-depth and intensely personal view into the different facets of the lives of homeless women. Liebow continues throughout the book to deliver the facts to the reader in such a way that they reveal the brutal truth of the women's lives without dragging the reader to a place where (s)he is overcome with pity and shame. Instead, Liebow manages to connect the reader to the women, showing their humanity. I wanted to cheer them on, encourage them, defend each of them, from opinionated Betty to retarded Ginger to Grace, a born-again Christian, although these aren't the actual names of the women. This book makes a the reader see homeless women as people and forces the reader to look beyond stereotypes. It gives the women faces and shows their individuality. Tell Them Who I Am also goes into some detail about the different shelters themselves, the ways they are run, and what function they serve. It also mentions such things as Social Services and Medicare, pointing out what they provide and, very importantly, the weaknesses that these services and others have when dealing with the homeless. These weaknesses are evidenced through the multitude of difficulties that the women experienced in dealing with various "helpful" agencies. Probably the most important reason for a person to read Tell Them Who I Am is that one can learn from it. The facts contained within this very well-written book are the facts that could go a long way toward a better understanding of homeless women and what can be done to aid them. The fear that "in all its forms stands out," can be worn away with some of the understanding can be found in this book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good balance of rational and personal, November 9, 2006

By 

R. Ford - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been reading and researching the United States homeless issues for a few months and found this book to be fairly insightful. Liebow writes from a very intimate point of view and backs up his observations with sources and facts. This is a very palatable introductory book to the general issues of homelessness in America today.