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BOOK #3: "Hitting The Pavement: A Journalist's 2-Year Memoir of Homelessness" Copyright, 2016
I began writing about homelessness when a life-changing injury forced me to retire from my chosen vocation and placed me in jeopardy of becoming homeless. In other words, the injury left me partially handicapped and with a choice to make. I could now live the life of a disabled person or live it and write about it, too. I chose to write. And, to that end, I went on to live among the homeless in various temporary housing facilities. I was allowed to live in four out of six types; namely, Shared Housing, Winter Shelter, Year 'Round Shelter and Sober Living. I was not allowed into either Men's Only nor those intended for Women & Children Only (mainly battered wives). I spent nineteen out of twenty four months in the various levels of temporary shelters (staying two to five months in each and some were multiple times) In the process, I did not divulge the fact that I am a journalist and writing about one of the most urgent circumstances of modern times. I did this for two reasons, because I knew that, if they were aware and helped me somehow, I wouldn't know if they did it because I needed it or because I'm writing about it. And, more importantly, because I knew I would get embellished stories; or, worse, no story at all. I titled it, by the way, "Hitting The Pavement" for three reasons: my injury was caused when I fell and hit the pavement and most homeless have encountered a situation that forced them to hit the pavement, too. It is also a metaphor that depicts the forced use by the homeless of shopping carts. It is now my pleasure to introduce "Hitting The Pavement: A Journalist's 2-Year Memoir of Homelessness" (in both Paperback and Kindle versions) at www.amazon.com.