The Shame Game - by Mary O'Hara (Paperback)

Number of Pages: 232
Genre: Social Science
Sub-Genre: Poverty & Homelessness
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Policy Press
Age Range: Adult
Author: Mary O'Hara
Language: English

About the Book

Drawing on a two-year multi-platform initiative, this book by award-winning journalist and author Mary O'Hara, asks how we can overturn the portrayal of poverty once and for all. Crucially, she turns to the real experts to try to find answers - the people who live it.

Book Synopsis

What does it mean to be poor in Britain and America? For decades the primary narrative about poverty in both countries is that it has been caused by personal flaws or 'bad life decisions' rather than policy choices or economic inequality. This misleading account has become deeply embedded in the public consciousness with serious ramifications for how financially vulnerable people are seen, spoken about and treated. Drawing on a two-year multi-platform initiative, this book by award-winning journalist and author Mary O'Hara, asks how we can overturn this portrayal once and for all. Crucially, she turns to the real experts to try to find answers - the people who live it.

Review Quotes

"A welcome addition to all those who reject the 'toxic poverty narrative'. . . . Detailed, hard-hitting and thoughtful. . . . We need books such as The Shame Game to remind ourselves that being poor is not a self-choice but something that is inflicted by those who hold the levers of power and wealth."-- "View Digital"

"It is rare that the central argument of a book is so eerily transformed by events. If it had not been for the coronavirus, Mary O'Hara's The Shame Game would have been respectfully received and tidily shelved alongside several other stringent assessments of the ugly politics of austerity. . . . In our new world, this reads less a study of them and us, than potentially a book about us all."-- "Prospect Magazine"

"The Shame Game illuminates the disparagement that the poor confront in a prosperous America. . . [and] points to our collective need for better social supports, including cheaper medical care, improved access to education and even periodic government cash giveaways through programs like universal basic income. . . . As O'Hara puts it: "There is a long history of the poorest being shunned and shamed and 'kept in their place, ' but there is also a history of these practices being challenged with genuine successes. . . . Ultimately, finding solutions to poverty, including ending the blaming and shaming of the poorest among us, rests with all of us.""

-- "The Washington Post"

"A necessary book in divisive times."-- "Jameela Jamil, actor and activist"

"In a time of extreme social and economic division, O'Hara lifts the lid on who truly benefits from keeping us divided and how we can flip the script of poverty to make a fairer society for all. A powerful and important book."-- "Mahsuda Snaith, author of How to Find Home"

"O'Hara sees the potential of talent and magic in every kid and every adult. This book explores the absolute travesty of blaming each other."-- "Conrad Murray, BAC Beatbox Academy"

"Rich people should be required to read this book and poor people should be allowed to. I have rarely seen a more broad and beautiful picture of people who have done more with less than this book. O'Hara has woven a rich tapestry of joy and terror and talent and lost opportunities and the picture she draws is the most comprehensive description of poverty I've seen yet."-- "Linda Tirado, author of Hand to Mouth"

About the Author

Mary O'Hara is a journalist and the author of Austerity Bites. She writes for a number of outlets, including the Guardian and Mosaic Science.