Nonfiction

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-06-29 06:51:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Andrea Elliott
  • ISBN：0812986954
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Summary

The riveting， unforgettable story of a girl whose indomitable spirit is tested by homelessness， poverty， and racism in an unequal America—from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Andrea Elliott of The New York Times

Invisible Child follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani Coates， a child with an imagination as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn homeless shelter。 Born at the turn of a new century， Dasani is named for the bottled water that comes to symbolize Brooklyn’s gentrification and the shared aspirations of a divided city。 As Dasani grows up， moving with her tight-knit family from shelter to shelter， this story goes back to trace the passage of Dasani’s ancestors from slavery to the Great Migration north。 By the time Dasani comes of age， New York City’s homeless crisis is exploding as the chasm deepens between rich and poor。

In the shadows of this new Gilded Age， Dasani must lead her seven siblings through a thicket of problems: hunger， parental drug addiction， violence， housing instability， segregated schools， and the constant monitoring of the child-protection system。 When， at age thirteen， Dasani enrolls at a boarding school in Pennsylvania， her loyalties are tested like never before。 As she learns to “code switch” between the culture she left behind and the norms of her new town， Dasani starts to feel like a stranger in both places。 Ultimately， she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning the family you love？

By turns heartbreaking and revelatory， provocative and inspiring， Invisible Child tells an astonishing story about the power of resilience， the importance of family， and the cost of inequality。 Based on nearly a decade of reporting， this book vividly illuminates some of the most critical issues in contemporary America through the life of one remarkable girl。

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Reviews

Morgan Miller ，

Incredible storytelling and reporting。 This book is a must read for everyone。 You see the reality and inner lives of those affected by these broken systems and this book invites you to see our common humanity…and that we all have responsibility to these families and children that are fighting for their lives in the system。

Julia ，

this book blew me away， and it’s probably going to take me a long time to process and reflect on it in its entirety。 thoughts as of now: per reflection on socialist writing sparked by reading group discussion， I think the author did a good job not portraying the family solely as victims in need of pity — rather， this book is a call to action; to fight。

Lauren Wooldridge ，

A masterpiece that should be required reading in an unequal America。 This is， above all else， a story。 Ms。 Elliot does not instruct us to cast an opinion， and her lack of doing so reminded me to pause， be curious， take a moment to just be in it with this family who has opened themselves wide up to show some of the things 1/5 American children experience。 Like a great piece of journalism should， I now have lots of questions and reading as follow up to learn about the systems that seem so broken—e A masterpiece that should be required reading in an unequal America。 This is， above all else， a story。 Ms。 Elliot does not instruct us to cast an opinion， and her lack of doing so reminded me to pause， be curious， take a moment to just be in it with this family who has opened themselves wide up to show some of the things 1/5 American children experience。 Like a great piece of journalism should， I now have lots of questions and reading as follow up to learn about the systems that seem so broken—entrenched in classism and racism— and how we can work to fix them。 。。。more

Anne ，

This book was excellent。 To portray the plight of impoverished children in the US， Andrea Elliott embedded herself with a family of two adults and eight children in NYC。 Initially homeless， the family finally gets a Section 8 apartment， only to have the children removed， split up， and placed in foster care due to the mother's addiction and the failure of the child assistance agencies to transfer her benefits to her husband。 All of the children begin acting out and the boys end up in juvenile det This book was excellent。 To portray the plight of impoverished children in the US， Andrea Elliott embedded herself with a family of two adults and eight children in NYC。 Initially homeless， the family finally gets a Section 8 apartment， only to have the children removed， split up， and placed in foster care due to the mother's addiction and the failure of the child assistance agencies to transfer her benefits to her husband。 All of the children begin acting out and the boys end up in juvenile detention。 The oldest， Dasani （the subject of a series in the NYT in 2013）， who had been doing well at the Milton Hershey school in PA， also acts out until she is expelled and ends up in foster care herself。 Because of Elliott's intensive immersion in the family， the book is able to provide the reader with incredible detail about not only the family but the way the courts and welfare agencies interacted with it。 The book is well-balanced - the successes and failures of both the parents and the "system" are treated fairly。 This review probably makes the book sound terribly depressing， but because she reports impartially on all players there are moments of hope and encouragement too。 。。。more

Marie ，

There is a lot to discuss。

Raz ，

It’s rare a work of nonfiction will invoke a strong emotional reaction from me， but Invisible Child is in many ways rare。It’s difficult to read。 When Dasani or Chanel or Supreme make decisions or fall into patterns I don’t agree with， I find myself inconsolable。 When court-appointed lawyers idly watch the family’s struggles I fly into fits of rage。 How could someone of privilege not experience these emotions， though？ The family’s contrast to my own experience challenges my view of “norms。” This It’s rare a work of nonfiction will invoke a strong emotional reaction from me， but Invisible Child is in many ways rare。It’s difficult to read。 When Dasani or Chanel or Supreme make decisions or fall into patterns I don’t agree with， I find myself inconsolable。 When court-appointed lawyers idly watch the family’s struggles I fly into fits of rage。 How could someone of privilege not experience these emotions， though？ The family’s contrast to my own experience challenges my view of “norms。” This isn’t about why Raz would make different decisions。 This is about Dasani and her family， fighting their vices， surviving from day to day， and keeping family at the forefront。 This is about New York City， about homelessness， about failed policies and inept support structures， about institutionalized racism， about the ignorance of the poor and working class。 Although Andrea Elliott is covering one family， she juxtaposes their struggle beautifully with the burdens of countless others。 Her syntax is remarkable balance between one family and American urban poverty。 Please， read this book。 Feel what the family is feeling， share in Chanel’s rage， Supreme’s mood swings， Dasani’s poetry。 If you don’t want to read it， if it doesn’t seem like your style， please， read it。 Let’s discuss it。 And let’s work to promote change。 。。。more

Kathy ，

Eye-opening， no wonder it is nigh impossible to break out of the cycle of poverty。。。。

Kimmy ，

Crushingly good。 I have not been so engrossed in a book， reading it for hours on end， in every free minute， in many years。 Reads like fiction but hits like the truth with the power of the story and way that Elliott recounts everything。 The incredible fortune that I live in the neighborhood of Dasani and her family （near the Auburn shelter） gave me an entirely new and needed perspective on my surroundings。 A blessing， an eye opening， a must read and understand。"Fort Green's demography may feed su Crushingly good。 I have not been so engrossed in a book， reading it for hours on end， in every free minute， in many years。 Reads like fiction but hits like the truth with the power of the story and way that Elliott recounts everything。 The incredible fortune that I live in the neighborhood of Dasani and her family （near the Auburn shelter） gave me an entirely new and needed perspective on my surroundings。 A blessing， an eye opening， a must read and understand。"Fort Green's demography may feed such perceptions: The top 5 percent of residents earn 76 times the income of the bottom quintile， making this one of the most unequal pockets in the city。""The early pioneers of Fort Greene's gentrification were， in fact， African American。 In the 1960s- long after the neighborhood was redlined， allowing banks to disinvest- Black middle-class families took ownership of Fort Greene's brownstones。The 1980s and 1990s brought a cultural revival that is likened to the Harlem Renaissance， with Black writers， musicians， and actors planting roots in Fort Greene- among them Chris Rock， Erykah Badu， and Branford Marsalis。 Their de facto mayor was Spike Lee， whose homegrown 1986 film She's Gotta Have It takes place in the neighborhood。 By the time Dasani was born here， in 2001， Fort Greene was the beating heart of what Essence magazine called Brooklyn's "Black Mecca，" a neighborhood that Black families had dominated for half a century。 It was on a bench in Fort Greene Park that Richard Wright had written passages of his landmark 1940 novel， Native Son。Then came a seismic change。Much of it began in 2003， with Mayor Bloomberg's plan to remake downtown Brooklyn。 Through aggressive rezoning and generous subsidies， developers broke ground on nineteen luxury buildings in Fort Greene， all in the span of three years。 Within a decade， the neighborhood's real estate prices had doubled and its portion of white residents had jumped by 80 percent- while an estimated three-quarters of Fort Greene's Black-owned businesses closed。""A child like Dasani can get stuck in "fight or flight" mode， leading to an overproduction of cortisol and a surge in blood sugar。 This can make her resistant to insulin， causing diabetes or obesity。 It can accelerate atherosclerosis， the heart disease that killed Dasani's grandmother at age fifty-four。 And it can leave lasting "wear-and-tear" effects on a growing brain。" 。。。more

Pam Mooney Hoyt ，

This read was truly eye opening for me。 It is a must read！！

Jane ，

I echo many of the accolades this book has deservedly received and won’t go into that here。 However， regardless of the importance of this book， I feel very uncomfortable with how much detail has been revealed about kids who are still minors and who can’t give their legal consent to be written about in this manner。 The author justifies this by only using first names or street names of the children and some key adults but they are hardly anonymous with their sister Dasani now being a celebrity of I echo many of the accolades this book has deservedly received and won’t go into that here。 However， regardless of the importance of this book， I feel very uncomfortable with how much detail has been revealed about kids who are still minors and who can’t give their legal consent to be written about in this manner。 The author justifies this by only using first names or street names of the children and some key adults but they are hardly anonymous with their sister Dasani now being a celebrity of sorts。 I believe ethical lines were crossed and I can imagine that a few years down the road as these kids grow up， they will struggle with having their life stories given out to the world in such excruciating detail。 。。。more

Elle Shwer ，

Incredibly eye-opening

Jenlinmin ，

Riveting is the word！ Wow！ Our safety systems for the poor are so broken， but when a mother loves her children， that bond can not be broken， no matter what the system tries to do。

Manisha ，

Listened to the audiobook。Absolutely beautiful。

SARAH MARTIN ，

Should be required reading for every single person in this country。

Erin Wallace ，

Absolutely fantastic。 In the style of The Warmth of Other Suns and After the Last Border， this tells the story of one family trapped in generational poverty， homelessness， and the child welfare system in NYC with information about history and policy woven in for context。 Highly recommend。

Lisa ，

So many good books the past few weeks。 I have to keep recommending them all。

Yiping ，

Extremely powerful book。 It lagged a bit in the middle and I skipped ahead; that being said， I still give it 5 stars。 The author followed Dasani and her family for almost a decade and researched the family back multiple generations。 Poverty， racism， classism， education， drugs， criminal justice， child foster。 The book covers so many systems and societal structures。 They're all intertwined。 This book left me thinking about Dasani， her parents， her siblings， her neighbors and her teachers。 Extremely powerful book。 It lagged a bit in the middle and I skipped ahead; that being said， I still give it 5 stars。 The author followed Dasani and her family for almost a decade and researched the family back multiple generations。 Poverty， racism， classism， education， drugs， criminal justice， child foster。 The book covers so many systems and societal structures。 They're all intertwined。 This book left me thinking about Dasani， her parents， her siblings， her neighbors and her teachers。 。。。more

Jack ，

Invisible Child is a powerful account that "makes visible" the life of Dasani and the series of immense challenges of homelessness， drug addiction， and family separation that surround her upbringing in New York City。 For anyone familiar with poverty in the US， much of the circumstances described in this book are not new and yet this book will still leave you in shock at the depth of cruelty that society imposes on families living in poverty （the most egregious example for me was when the shelter Invisible Child is a powerful account that "makes visible" the life of Dasani and the series of immense challenges of homelessness， drug addiction， and family separation that surround her upbringing in New York City。 For anyone familiar with poverty in the US， much of the circumstances described in this book are not new and yet this book will still leave you in shock at the depth of cruelty that society imposes on families living in poverty （the most egregious example for me was when the shelter services disposed of the family's possessions after missing curfew， including the grandmother Joanie's ashes）。 What also makes this book so compelling is how far Andrea Elliot goes to detail the conversations and interior lives of the Coates family with such grace and granularity。 I hope this becomes required reading in classrooms and book clubs。 。。。more

Reb ，

I wish everyone would read this book。 Educators， social workers， policy makers， urban planners， and the general public。 Neither the right or the left have an accurate read on the complexities of poverty。 This book is an excellent read， giving nuance and understanding to both the micro and macro levels of systemic poverty。

Aly Egan ，

5 stars does not do this justice。 Most moving nonfiction piece I’ve read in a loooong time。 Should be a required read for anyone above the poverty line - well done NYT

Will ，

This is a brilliant examination of poverty issues in the United States。 For people who are unfamiliar with poverty， underlying causes and effects on families， they should read this book。

Sherry Monger ，

The Invisible Child is Dasani Coates- a young Black girl and one of 70000 homeless people in NYC。 Her story is powerful and riveting as she is followed by the author Andrea Elliott of the NYTimes for eight years。 Moving from shelter to shelter and attending multiple schools， Dasani is accustomed to poverty， disappointment， hunger and the need to provide your own protection against a hostile neighbourhood。 She is smart， impulsive - a street kid through and through。 Dasani understands the need for The Invisible Child is Dasani Coates- a young Black girl and one of 70000 homeless people in NYC。 Her story is powerful and riveting as she is followed by the author Andrea Elliott of the NYTimes for eight years。 Moving from shelter to shelter and attending multiple schools， Dasani is accustomed to poverty， disappointment， hunger and the need to provide your own protection against a hostile neighbourhood。 She is smart， impulsive - a street kid through and through。 Dasani understands the need for education but has none of the skills that good parenting and stability provide。 Everyone should read this book for an understanding of race， human dignity and politics in North America。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

Obviously systemic change needs to happen but when I think too much about that I do start to feel hopeless about how many people are involved; some with good intentions （ most working in agencies intended to help） and many without good intentions as well… those spreading rhetoric of hate and ignorance and those who put up barriers to any change at all。 Their voices are so loud （ and feel like so many these days）… thinking about that， it’s hard not to feel hopeless。 But reading builds empathy and Obviously systemic change needs to happen but when I think too much about that I do start to feel hopeless about how many people are involved; some with good intentions （ most working in agencies intended to help） and many without good intentions as well… those spreading rhetoric of hate and ignorance and those who put up barriers to any change at all。 Their voices are so loud （ and feel like so many these days）… thinking about that， it’s hard not to feel hopeless。 But reading builds empathy and the beginnings of understanding so read on。I became so exhausted reading this book。 And more than hopeless， I just felt overwhelmed… the issues are so complex and so many… my best next step is to be continue to be there; one child at a time; to listen and love and acknowledge the truths shared with me and then to make a difference with my actions and voice where and when I can。 This is a very important book。“Whatever you do won’t be enough。 Try anyway。 “A Promised LandB Obama 。。。more

John DiConsiglio ，

NYT Pulitzer-winning reporter Elliot spent a remarkable 8 years following homeless Brooklyn schoolgirl Dasani as her family navigated labyrinths of city shelters， welfare offices & courtrooms while struggling with poverty & addiction。 Elliot’s empathy doesn’t keep her from a clear-eyed look at the system’s—& the family’s—failures that make Dasani’s dreams unreachable。 Extraordinary immersive journalism originally published as a newspaper series， she’s expanded it too much for this overly-long bo NYT Pulitzer-winning reporter Elliot spent a remarkable 8 years following homeless Brooklyn schoolgirl Dasani as her family navigated labyrinths of city shelters， welfare offices & courtrooms while struggling with poverty & addiction。 Elliot’s empathy doesn’t keep her from a clear-eyed look at the system’s—& the family’s—failures that make Dasani’s dreams unreachable。 Extraordinary immersive journalism originally published as a newspaper series， she’s expanded it too much for this overly-long book。 The stories will feel familiar to readers of Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here & Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family。 Unfortunately， poverty is a genre too。 。。。more

Ellen ，

A heartbreaking and maddening account of a New York City family toiling in and out of the shelter system。 Author Andrea Elliot follows young Dasani and her family members throughout a tumultuous span of time - masterfully reporting all their highs and lows。 'Invisible Child' gave me a unique lens on housing， incarceration， education and family。 To see it all from a child's view was powerful， a perspective that isn't often heard directly when social system is debated and discussed。 Full disclosur A heartbreaking and maddening account of a New York City family toiling in and out of the shelter system。 Author Andrea Elliot follows young Dasani and her family members throughout a tumultuous span of time - masterfully reporting all their highs and lows。 'Invisible Child' gave me a unique lens on housing， incarceration， education and family。 To see it all from a child's view was powerful， a perspective that isn't often heard directly when social system is debated and discussed。 Full disclosure - I found this book to be tad unnecessarily lengthy at times BUT overall， would recommend。 。。。more

Carolyn ，

Not sure what to say about this other than that all of the accolades and hype are accurate。

Nikki Robbins ，

Incredible journalism。 Elliott follows an impoverished family for 8 years and through telling their stories and day-to-day realities， sheds light on the challenges， cyclic nature， and systemic issues that keep hold on a child in poverty。

Jason Adams ，

Compelling and Bittersweet God save us from being homeless and/or poor。 Elliot’s bittersweet tale demonstrates how misaligned government bureaucracy can be to the needs of the destitute。 One of the most striking details is the amount government spends to separate families compared to what it does to support them。 It is clear that politics - the need to address “welfare queens” and the acts of a few sociopathic mothers - has wired a system that acts more to show action than make wise choices。

Elizabeth ，

2

Laura Sylvan ，

This book is so beautifully written。 Incredible character personification。 What a unique perspective to follow this family for so many years。 I’m inspired by their story and equally as horrified by our welfare programs in this country。 Homelessness is a CRISIS in this country。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0