The Concrete Killing Fields
One Woman's Battle to Break the Cycle of Homelessness
by Pat Morgan
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Feb 20 2014 | Archive Date Feb 25 2014
Mile High Press | JKSCommunications
Description
Gripping and gnawing; fascinating and funny; mesmerizing yet motivating!
Have you ever wondered ... Why we still have so many homeless people on the streets? Why so many people with mental illness, homeless or not, are in jails or prisons? Why so many people are such strong supporters of President Bill Clinton, and/or Hillary?
You need to wonder no longer. Pat Morgan has the answers. With her gift of story-telling, deep sense of compassion, and rich Southern sense of humor, Pat Morgan takes you on a ride ... a kaleidoscope of adventures that few ever experience.
From the cotton fields of Arkansas to the concrete killing fields of Tennessee to the Presidents box at the Kennedy Center you will open your eyes, your heart and discover that it is never too late to live out your dreams.
To read Pat Morgan's The Concrete Killing Fields is to travel with those our nation has left behind. In bravely revealing her own journey alongside our nation's homeless men, women and children, Pat helps us understand both how we can help them and how we can learn from them. Her own assessment of that journey provides a job description for all those who sincerely want to make a difference in the lives of our country's homeless population. Thanks, Pat, for the gift of this book and for your incredible honesty.
Fred Karnas, Social Investment Officer, Kresge Foundation, former Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, former Interim Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Pat Morgan found her calling in the basement of Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis Tennessee where she discovered the invisible people the homeless. She hadn t set out to become an expert on homeless people; she hadnt planned on working in Washington DC; and she hadnt planned on finding the missing healing ingredient that she needed.
As a political insider, part policy maker and confessed political activist and junkie, Pat Morgan was the fly on the wall with a ringside seat. Failing at picking cotton as a young girl, she discovered that what she was good at picking was smart people and mentors to guide her.
I'd wept when nobody could see me and laughed when everybody could. I'd mourned more than I ever expected to mourn and I'd danced every chance I got. I' d like to think I hadn't cast away stones, but the truth is that I' d cast a lot of stones and gathered up a few more to cast at the barriers to accessing the system. Pat Morgan, from The Concrete Killing Fields
Get ready for an intense glimpse into a lifetime of stories-stories of people you have heard of and stories from those who are invisible all waiting to be told.
Readers, be warned! Pat s must tell testament is compelling and contagious, relentless and raw, inspired and inspiring! Read and digest The Concrete Killing Fields. You will not remain the same.
The Reverend Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, former rector of Calvary Episcopal Church (Memphis), President and founder, Center for Urban Ministry, Inc., Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Advance Praise
Pat Morgan is a national treasure. No one understands the problem of homelessness in America better than Pat, and she brings that knowledge to life in the rich descriptions of The Concrete Killing Fields. It is hard to read her book and not reflect deeply on just how easily the people she describes could be ourselves or someone we love. We are all extremely fortunate that Pat has dedicated herself not only to chronicling the plight of the homeless but to doing something about it. Her life is an inspiration to us all. --Marcus Pohlmann, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Rhodes College, Memphis; American Mock Trial Coaches Hall of Fame; author of Black Politics in Conservative America; Landmark Congressional Laws on Civil Rights
Wonderful book. I opened it when I got home from work...and didn't put it down until I had finished it at bedtime...made me think about my own life a bit! Pat s writing really shines in the telling of stories of those she met along the way, where her humor, warmth, and humanity shine through. --Gloria Cabe, Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC; former chief of staff to then-Governor Bill Clinton, and Director of the Washington Operations Office of the 92 Clinton for President and Clinton-Gore ca
The Concrete Killing Fields is not just a book about homelessness or struggles or pain. It is a beautifully written book about one woman s journey to discover herself, fulfill livelong ambitions, and do her best to provide relief, in whatever form, to those she encounters. You do not need to be a student of the issues or have direct knowledge of the situations Pat describes to appreciate and enjoy this book. Through Pat s elegant, yet direct, prose, she pulls you intimately into the story of a gutsy, strong-willed woman with a goal of making this world a better place. Pat Morgan has spent years doing and living life. Her voice is one that should be heard. --Betsy Bird, Captain, U. S. Navy retired. Former Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Public Affairs; Public Affairs Officer for Commander, Submarine Force, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, HI; Public Affairs Officer for the Chief of Naval Personnel, Wash
Wonderful book. I opened it when I got home from work...and didn't put it down until I had finished it at bedtime...made me think about my own life a bit! Pat s writing really shines in the telling of stories of those she met along the way, where her humor, warmth, and humanity shine through. --Gloria Cabe, Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC; former chief of staff to then-Governor Bill Clinton, and Director of the Washington Operations Office of the 92 Clinton for President and Clinton-Gore ca
**************************************
You'll Be Shaken Out of Your Comfort Zone, and Glad for It
Pat Morgan has had no easy life by anyone's measure, and almost as grizzly as life in the impoverished, hardscrabble, backwater speck on the map where she grew up in rural Arkansas was her career on the streets of one of America's poorest cities where she fought to acknowledge, serve, comprehend, and then try to serve better the forgotten people living in society's darkest shadows. As she describes her coming to grips with her own past, she wraps her head around the root causes of homelessness. Her fierce determination to make a difference lands her in Washington where she brings her on-the-ground expertise to the formation of public policy. This is a moving and inspiring story of making change happen in your own life, on the streets where you live, and on the national stage. -- Amazon Reviewer
**************************************
Can't Put this one Down!
The 'Concrete Killing Fields' is one of the best books I've read in years. It tells the stories of homeless people by a person who evidently spent countless hours by their sides. Pat Morgan is an excellent story teller - she includes humor, anger, fear, triumph, success and even parts of her own life's story - all coming together in a touching and inspiring book that I hope receives the attention it well deserves. The travesties of a broken mental health system paint a picture that is so real and timely that it is difficult not to be enraged at its lack of funding. I highly recommend this book - you won't be able to put it down. - Molly May, Amazon Reviewrer
Marketing Plan
Full Publicity Campaign including Book Distribution, Media, Book Clubs and Physical and Virtual Book Tour.
For interest and/or more information, please contact Samantha@JKSCommunications.com
Full Publicity Campaign including Book Distribution, Media, Book Clubs and Physical and Virtual Book Tour.
For interest and/or more information, please contact Samantha@JKSCommunications.com
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781885331533 |
| PRICE | $17.98 (USD) |
Links
Average rating from 4 members
Readers who liked this book also liked:
