The Boys In The BunkhouseAuthor :
Hardback
Published : Tuesday 17 May 2016
Description
Nominated for the 2017 Hillman Prize and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award
With this Dickensian tale from America’s heartland, New York Times writer and columnist Dan Barry tells the harrowing yet uplifting story of the exploitation and abuse of a resilient group of men with intellectual disability, and the heroic efforts of those who helped them to find justice and reclaim their lives.
In the tiny Iowa farm town of Atalissa, dozens of men, all with intellectual disability and all from Texas, lived in an old schoolhouse. Before dawn each morning, they were bussed to a nearby processing plant, where they eviscerated turkeys in return for food, lodging, and $65 a month. They lived in near servitude for more than thirty years, enduring increasing neglect, exploitation, and physical and emotional abuse—until state social workers, local journalists, and one tenacious labor lawyer helped these men achieve freedom.
Drawing on exhaustive interviews, Dan Barry dives deeply into the lives of the men, recording their memories of suffering, loneliness and fleeting joy, as well as the undying hope they maintained despite their traumatic circumstances. Barry explores how a small Iowa town remained oblivious to the plight of these men, analyzes the many causes for such profound and chronic negligence, and lays out the impact of the men’s dramatic court case, which has spurred advocates—including President Obama—to push for just pay and improved working conditions for people living with disabilities.
A luminous work of social justice, told with compassion and compelling detail, The Boys in the Bunkhouse is more than just inspired storytelling. It is a clarion call for a vigilance that ensures inclusion and dignity for all.
You may also like ...
by
Hardback
27 Feb 2024
History
€44.45
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
by
Paperback
03 Aug 2023
True stories: general
€19.88
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
by
Hardback
11 Oct 2018
Literary essays
€29.25
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
by
Hardback
17 May 2016
True stories: general
€31.58
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
Reviews