This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Bernadette Longu for Readers' Favorite
Shelter Stories by Mark Eaton is a collection of 14 stories from his time in the United States, where he lived for 30 years after losing his passport and becoming homeless. To survive, he lived on the streets and entered the world of homeless shelters run by various organizations that think they know what is going on, but they don’t really keep a close eye on the staff they employ. The truth is that everyone is out to get something or make someone's life hell just because they don’t like that person. The most memorable story is 9/11, when Mark was working at the Salvation Army, and they were called to make sandwiches and tea and take it down to the epicenter of the disaster.
In Shelter Stories by Mark Eaton, the stories are very enlightening, humorous, soul-searching, and also soul-destroying. The author writes about how he survived on the streets of New York and found work. He describes how the homeless are exploited by companies or people who are looking for cheap labor with no intention of giving the right payment, or even payment at all. The world of the homeless is full of alcohol, drugs, and sexual exploitation. Some shelters offer rehabilitation to addicts, but drugs are freely available, and the supervisors turn a blind eye or even take a cut of the drugs supplied to the inmates. Sleeping arrangements are hit-and-miss and done in tiers, and if you complain, you get demoted or even moved to another shelter. This happened to the author; there was not a shelter in the whole of New York that he had not been in, and he had even been put in jail on a trumped-up charge. The last two stories bring the book to a conclusion that is unexpected. It is a very interesting book, bringing to light how even the homeless are exploited by those who have more. It is an eye-opener into how the shelters for the homeless work and how cruel people can be to each other.
