Heartbreaking moving story of homelessness in Boston though it’s implications are universal.. Award winning author Tracy Kidder (Strength In What Remains, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Among Schoolchildren, House, The Soul of a New Machine) now documents homelessness in Boston in Rough Sleepers - euphemism for the sleep the homeless get. He focuses primarily on Dr Jim O'Connell - Harvard medical educated - who decided after deferring Sloane Kettering for a year to dedicate his life to ministering to the Boston homeless.

He led a Street Team who went out every night to seek the nooks and crannies that he knew the homeless favored to tend to their medical needs - to help them yet not try to change them or force them off the streets - sometimes to provide overnights at the Barbara McInnis House. Also he ran the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Part documentation- part oral history - part social history- this is the story of one man’s journey to solve an insoluble problem.

A big focus is one homeless man Tony Columbo- born in Bostons Italian North Emd - bruiser - alcoholic/ addict - mental health issues - charming big bustling man who was loved and took care of so many others - but could never get his own act together and remained on the streets. His story is harrowing and ultimately heartbreaking. Kidder devotes a lot of the book to Tony’s story giving the issues a human filter - and you want to cheer him on yourself. No saint - he is the epitome of the message of the book- to help as best you can without judgment or force to the broken toys of the world.

These are real people that Dt Jim helps by befriending them - listening- working with them on their treatments and housing - but never forcing anything. if a patient decides to leave the shelter to go back to the streets - no questions were asked - with the offer that they keep in touch and keep up their medical treatments as best they could. A humane if not difficult at times approach.

A wonderful book - uplifting and devastating at the same time - of this Sisyphean problem as labeled in the. book. Kidder as observer goes on rounds with Dr Jim and tries to record and not to interfer in order to create a rich human tapestry of a problem exasperated in recent times with no ultimate solutions offered.

Very readable - in fact somehow a page turner - beautifully written with sober eyes - highly recommended for its humanity - tact - insights - empathy.

Kidder has written a deeply felt book for the soul full of joys and pains and subtle observations. Everyone tells their story here in their own words . A beautiful achievement.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
I am always excited at the prospect of another Tracy Kidder bio, and this did not disappoint. Kidder knows how to take the time to make a really complex portrait of his subjects, many of whom would be easy to oversentimentalize, like this Boston doctor who has spent decades caring for the homeless who sleep mostly outside, the "rough sleepers." A side highlight in this one was the sad story of a homeless man who got close to both the doctor and the author. Well written as expected, heartbreaking, inspiring, and realistic in due measure as well.

Rough Sleepers from Tracy Kidder will stay with you for a long time. Kidder has a unique way of telling the stories of the saintly in a way that humanizes them. He deftly relates the experiences of many of Boston’s unhoused in the way his focus, Dr. Jim O’Connell, does, with dignity and respect. Kidder’s words are never maudlin but you are moved at every turn. You will not forget Tony anytime soon. Thank you to #netgalley and#penguin random house for the opportunity to preview this excellent book.

So many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this. This was a treat! I have read other books from this author. This was so well written that I stayed up late a couple nights to finish it. What a story and so well told. The story of Dr. Jim O'Connell is so fascinating and inspiring that I can't recommend this enough. This book deserves to do very well. Highly, highly recommended.

Another triumph for Tracy Kidder. An important topic to explore. Boston has really made great strides it sounds like, but so far still to go. They are extremely blessed to have such a dedicated doctor working to help these folks. Fascinating story and heartbreaking as well. I wish all municipalities would read this and learn from it. Tracy Kidder is, as always, a wonderful storyteller and a great writer. He takes a difficult subject and creates a page turner. He brings individuals to life to illustrate the problem and suggest ways forward. I highly recommend this to everyone. I'm grateful to Random House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. And I honestly love this author and this book!

For most of my adults life I believed a rough sleeper was a bed partner was someone to be avoided or a child with night time restlessness. Enter the book Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder. Reding the book I was drawn into the world of Boston's homeless people who most often slept outside in all types of weather, finding limited shelter in parks, alcoves, alleys, and an occasional appliance box. During the worst winter weather Boston has had, the rough sleepers remained outside.

Enter Dr. Jim, a physician who was headed to a prestigious fellowship who chose to give one year on a team of medical personnel who provided medical care to the rough sleepers of Boston. One year became two. The program expanded. A clinic was born. A tea of doctors who traveled the city in a van began a new type of service. Home less shelters were created. Dr. Jim was there through it all.

Fast forward forty years. The rough sleepers were still a problem. Dr. Jim was still treating them. Life was moving forward, but Jim had trained his helpers to relate to the homeless, recognizing they are people before they are patients or homeless.

If you haven't read Tracy Kidder before, you are in for a very special experience. Kidder will provide a look into a world that you have not experiences. Something you may have been aware of via the news, but not the particulars, not the social injustices.

In Rough Sleepers, Kidder follows the life story of Jim O'Connell and amazing and brilliant doctor who had dedicated his life to assisting the vulnerable population of people without homes (primarily in the boston area. Kidder depicts the true story, including O'Connell's mistakes as well as his successes. He deftly includes a researched critique of the medical system as well as the lack of true safeties put in place to assist this population.
Most importantly, Kidder includes descriptions of the patients O'Connell has worked with and brought the story to life. The story in inspiring and transfixing - you will never think the same about this population again. If you are a social justice warrior, interested in issues of hunger and homelessness or just a Tracy Kidder fan, Rough Sleepers is for you! #RandomHouse