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Broke excerpted in the New York Times

Broke excerpted in the New York Times

‘Broke: Hardship and Resilience in a City of Broken Promises,’ by Jodie Adams Kirshner: An Excerpt Nov. 19, 2019 Prologue: Springtime in Detroit Miles strode through the streets of Detroit, long-legged and focused, carrying a cup of keys to all the houses he contracted and an envelope of charge cards to cover construction supplies. He had reached his...

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Broke reviewed in the New York Times

Broke reviewed in the New York Times

NONFICTION ‘Broke’ Chronicles a City Out of Cash and Awash in Desperation An abandoned home on Detroit’s east side, 2017.Credit...Erin Kirkland for The New York Times By Anna Clark Nov. 19, 2019, 5:00 a.m. ET BROKE Hardship and Resilience in a City of Broken Promises By Jodie Adams Kirshner Detroit does not have the luxury of solving...

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Broke in Bridge Magazine

Broke in Bridge Magazine

Last winter, after Fiat Chrysler announced it would spend nearly $5 billion to build the first new auto assembly plant in Detroit in nearly three decades, President Trump tweeted, “They are all coming back to the USA, it’s where the action is!”  In referencing Detroit, however, the message described a city that used to have nearly a dozen large auto...

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Broke a Salon.com ‘November Must-Read Book’

Broke a Salon.com ‘November Must-Read Book’

November must-read books: Lynda Barry's comics, Carmen Maria Machado's "In the Dream House" and more The women of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" speak for themselves; disquieting novels revisit the Nazi and Pinochet regimes ERIN KEANE • ASHLIE D. STEVENS NOVEMBER 4, 2019 10:59PM (UTC) As we begin our march toward the holiday shopping season, November's...

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Broke in the Daily Beast

Broke in the Daily Beast

In Puerto Rico, so far, this year’s hurricane season hasn’t seemed bad. Dorian grazed the island but unleashed the bulk of its furies elsewhere. The same cannot be said of the financial lashings that Puerto Ricans have been weathering.

Earlier this fall, after over a decade in recession and more than four years since a declaration that Puerto Rico could not pay its bills, a federal oversight board disclosed a plan for restructuring the island’s debt. Two years earlier, the board had entered the island into a new, bankruptcy-like process to restructure nine times the amount of liabilities that Detroit reported when it filed for bankruptcy. The plan for Puerto Rico would reduce a third of the debt; it still requires a creditor vote and court approval.

I spent the last three and a half years studying the impact of Detroit’s bankruptcy on its residents.

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Broke: Library Journal review

Broke: Library Journal review

In her study of Detroit’s recent bankruptcy, Kirshner (research professor, New York Univ.) observes the experience of seven individuals, including residents, aspiring homeowners, and speculators. They include young single mother Lola, educated and motivated but unable to find an accessible job; lifelong resident Cindy, who, in her 60s, tries her hand at...

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