&;DON&;T believe the naysayers. The American Dream&;the fable that says if you work hard and follow the rules, you&;ll make it&;is alive and well.&;
&;New York Post
 
Adam W. Shepard&;s Scratch Beginnings is the fascinating and eye-opening account of the grand social experiment the author undertook in response to Barbara Ehrenreich&;s Nickel and Dimed. Subtitled &;Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream,&; Scratch Beginnings chronicles Shepard&;s successful efforts to raise himself up from self-imposed rock bottom in one year&;s time&;a personal odyssey that is sure to inspire anyone who reads about it, instilling new faith in the solid principles on which our democracy was built.
Adam Shepard is a 2006 graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, where he majored in business management and Spanish. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.