Behind the White Picket Fence


Book Description

Behind the White Picket Fence: Power and Privilege in a Multiethnic Neighborhood




White Picket Fences


Book Description

A Gentle Invitation into the Challenging Topic of Privilege The notion that some might have it better than others, for no good reason, offends our sensibilities. Yet, until we talk about privilege, we’ll never fully understand it or find our way forward. Amy Julia Becker welcomes us into her life, from the charm of her privileged southern childhood to her adult experience in the northeast, and the denials she has faced as the mother of a child with special needs. She shows how a life behind a white picket fence can restrict even as it protects, and how it can prevent us from loving our neighbors well. White Picket Fences invites us to respond to privilege with generosity, humility, and hope. It opens us to questions we are afraid to ask, so that we can walk further from fear and closer to love, in all its fragile and mysterious possibilities.




Beyond the White Picket Fence


Book Description

Growing up, Krista Kathleen followed all the rules... She went to church every Sunday, got straight A's in school, found a high paying job, and married her college sweetheart at the age of 26. From the outside looking in? Life looked picture perfect. But inside? She couldn't shake this nagging feeling that something was missing...that she was meant for so much more. Then, at the age of 30, Krista tragically got fired AND divorced within the span of a week. Though on one level, these events were totally catastrophic, they were also the energetic wakeup call Krista needed from the Universe to leave her former life behind so she could start over again. This book holds the answers she found as she put the pieces of her life back together in a bold and daring way that TRULY fit Part memoir, part "how-to" guide, Beyond the White Picket Fence is a battle cry for the woman who wants to blaze her own trail in a world desperate to keep her on the well-trodden path. You're going to walk away looking at your relationships, health, purpose, and connection to humanity in new ways and start asking yourself some really powerful questions maybe for the first time ever. At the end of the day, there are two kinds of women in this world: Those who follow the rules, and those who write their own. Beyond the White Picket Fence is for the latter.




Brave New Home


Book Description

This smart, provocative look at how the American Dream of single-family homes, white picket fences, and two-car garages became a lonely, overpriced nightmare explores how new trends in housing can help us live better. Over the past century, American demographics and social norms have shifted dramatically. More people are living alone, marrying later in life, and having smaller families. At the same time, their lifestyles are changing, whether by choice or by force, to become more virtual, more mobile, and less stable. But despite the ways that today's America is different and more diverse, housing still looks stuck in the 1950s. In Brave New Home, Diana Lind shows why a country full of single-family houses is bad for us and our planet, and details the new efforts underway that better reflect the way we live now, to ensure that the way we live next is both less lonely and more affordable. Lind takes readers into the homes and communities that are seeking alternatives to the American norm, from multi-generational living, in-law suites, and co-living to microapartments, tiny houses, and new rural communities. Drawing on Lind's expertise and the stories of Americans caught in or forging their own paths outside of our cookie-cutter housing trap, Brave New Home offers a diagnosis of the current American housing crisis and a radical re-imagining of future possibilities.




Black Picket Fences


Book Description

First published in 1999, Mary Pattillo’s Black Picket Fences explores an American demographic group too often ignored by both scholars and the media: the black middle class. Nearly fifteen years later, this book remains a groundbreaking study of a group still underrepresented in the academic and public spheres. The result of living for three years in “Groveland,” a black middle-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, Black Picket Fences explored both the advantages the black middle class has and the boundaries they still face. Despite arguments that race no longer matters, Pattillo showed a different reality, one where black and white middle classes remain separate and unequal. Stark, moving, and still timely, the book is updated for this edition with a new epilogue by the author that details how the neighborhood and its residents fared in the recession of 2008, as well as new interviews with many of the same neighborhood residents featured in the original. Also included is a new foreword by acclaimed University of Pennsylvania sociologist Annette Lareau.




Inside the White Picket Fence


Book Description

Growing up in the seventies, our family appeared perfect to the residents of our small community. My mother was determined to have her Camelot on the North Dakota prairie. My father was an unwilling participant in her goal of perfection; the children were props in the setting she was determined to create.




Reading Desperate Housewives


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The White Picket Fence


Book Description

In all author Serena Lynn Estes’s life decisions, she had chosen to be unsettled to avoid her grief. She moved continuously, bought many homes, had four marriages, and could not seem to settle into herself. She got bored and chose continuous movement to keep herself from stopping, listening, and just being. Then, after Estes turned fifty, she chose to stop the madness. After moving to California, she received her Holy Yoga certification, learned to meditate, and conducted burning sessions to release the anxiety. The last of these entails writing down your feelings and the specific struggles you are currently experiencing and safely lighting the paper on fire in a safe place to watch it burn. A burning session can allow you to let go of the unwanted feelings and struggles and release them into God’s control. When Estes prepares for her burning sessions, it gives her peace and the feeling of surrendering her heartache and challenges into the hands of God. She still struggles, as we all do, but it is what we do with the anxiety within us that counts. Now she seeks to share the story of how she found peace and understanding and stopped searching for the “white picket fence” after making many wrong choices in relationships, friendships, and family issues. Set in Texas and California, this inspirational personal narrative tells the story of a woman who has endured many types of trauma and wants to share her tools for healing with others.




Beyond the White Picket Fence


Book Description

Has Your Life Just Been Turned Upside Down? You shouldn’t have to go through a devastating crisis alone. You need a friend to come alongside you to help you heal and find hope again. Sheri Rose Shepherd, author of the bestselling His Princess series (more than a million copies sold), knows exactly what it’s like to have your life torn apart and your dreams shattered. Beyond the White Picket Fence is a lesson-filled love letter to anyone trapped in a pit of pain. Whether you are going through divorce, betrayal, abandonment, or disease, there is a way to come through it to find an even better, stronger you. God will not waste pain, and His promises will prove true when you’re on the other side of this season. This book will help you gain an eternal perspective and provide you with everyday survival skills to work with until you are thriving again.




Whatever Happened to the White Picket Fences Restoring the American Dream by Rebuilding Community


Book Description

"Whatever Happened to the White Picket Fences: Restoring the American Dream by Rebuilding Community" demonstrates a clear and consistent thematic continuity throughout its narrative. The central theme revolves around the decline of the American middle class and the erosion of community values, with a strong emphasis on the need to rebuild and restore both. The author consistently weaves together personal anecdotes, historical references, and social commentary to support this central theme. They begin by reminiscing about their childhood in the 1960s, a time they perceive as characterized by stronger communities and a more prosperous middle class. This sets the stage for a discussion of the factors that have contributed to the decline of the middle class, such as Reaganomics, corporate greed, and the erosion of unions. The author then explores various strategies for rebuilding the middle class and restoring community values. These include supporting local businesses, promoting vocational education, revitalizing main streets, embracing sustainable practices, and fostering civic engagement. Throughout the document, the author emphasizes the importance of individual action and collective responsibility in achieving these goals. While the document touches upon various subtopics, such as the rise of corporate landlords, the gig economy, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, these are all connected to the central theme of rebuilding the middle class and restoring community. The author effectively links these seemingly disparate topics by highlighting their impact on the economic and social well-being of individuals and communities. The document's continuity is further enhanced by the author's consistent use of language and tone. The writing style is personal and conversational, drawing the reader in with anecdotes and relatable experiences. The author's passion for the subject matter is evident throughout, creating a sense of urgency and inspiring readers to take action. In conclusion, "Whatever Happened to the White Picket Fences: Restoring the Middle Class by Rebuilding Community" demonstrates strong thematic continuity, effectively weaving together personal experiences, historical context, and social commentary to present a compelling argument for the need to rebuild the middle class and restore community values.