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NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE

Through vivid and emotionally powerful stories of five Atlanta families, this groundbreaking work uncovers a troubling new reality—the rapidly growing number of working homeless in American cities.

Praised by the Associated Press for its “revelatory and gut-wrenching” narratives, Brian Goldstone’s deeply reported book examines a phenomenon many find unthinkable: individuals and families with steady, full-time employment who nonetheless cannot afford housing. In a society that champions the belief that hard work inevitably leads to success, this growing fact stands as a shocking contradiction. Fueled not by economic decline but by booming growth, escalating rents, inadequate wages, and weak tenant protections, this crisis increasingly pushes families into displacement and homelessness, especially in rapidly gentrifying urban areas.

Goldstone provides readers a compelling look inside the lives of five families in Atlanta, a city long celebrated as America’s “Black Mecca” and now grappling with stark inequality and displacement. Maurice and Natalia moved to Atlanta for a better life after being forced out of Washington, DC by high costs. Kara aims to build her own cleaning service while working a janitorial job in a public hospital. Britt finally obtains a much-sought-after housing voucher. Michelle attends school to become a social worker. Celeste struggles to hold down a warehouse job while undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer. Each individual and family carries ambitious dreams, yet each tragically finds themselves slipping into homelessness despite steady employment.

This compelling account reveals the human stories behind the statistics—stories often overlooked by official figures and popular narratives. Goldstone offers intimate portrayals of parents, and their children, who are forced to sleep in their cars or in cramped and unsanitary extended-stay motels, then wake each day only to head out to work and school, unseen examples of America’s hidden homeless population.

Described by The New York Times Book Review as “an exceptional feat of reporting,” bringing immediacy reminiscent of landmark books such as Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family and Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, There Is No Place for Us offers urgent insight into the magnitude, causes, and devastating effects of the new American homelessness epidemic. Ultimately, Goldstone makes clear that solving this critical issue hinges on one fundamental shift—recognizing housing as a basic human right.