Everything Will Be All Right

A Memoir

By: Douglas Wallace

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

POVERTY: WHAT'S SOCIAL SCIENCE GOT TO DO WITH IT? Sixty years after Lyndon B. Johnson initiated the "War on Poverty," the number of children living in poverty today is higher than of any time in our nation's history. Doug Wallace and his seven siblings barely survived childhood, fleeing in the night from landlords, scrambling for food, and burning down the only house they ever owned to collect insurance money. Wallace digs deeper into the language and behavioral barriers faced by generational poverty victims, combining personal anecdotes and compelling personal experiences to establish new paradigms for understanding the social science of ever-increasing poverty. He challenges the argument that victims of poverty are not the author of their own destinies, and blames the culture of poverty for many of the problems of today's poor. The author unflinchingly reveals the painful experience of class prejudice and life on the fringes of society. As his dysfunctional family slid deeper into poverty and alcoholism, Doug watched his siblings steadily lose a stake in any kind of a secure future. He promised himself that would never happen to him Harrowing encounters with his own father and criminal elements in his neighborhoods created a constant state of chaos and crisis, threatening to derail his plans to escape what at times seemed an almost certain future of violence and crime. In this swift and exhilarating narrative, author Doug Wallace recounts in detail the astonishing true story of his remarkable escape from the chains that hold back so many victims of generational poverty. His gripping story is a testament to the immense power of faith and courage.