Bücher von Pat LaMarche

One unremarkable Friday in April, a stream of ordinary people makes its way to Liberty Mall in Anywhere, USA, to shop, work, keep appointments, or catch a movie. A typical day in an average town. American Roulette tells the story of eight of those people. Emma Franz is a store security guard with a secret. Earl Bricker, a retired factory worker, loves his country, his wife, and his good-old-boy network. Roger Elliot, mid-twenties and miserable, has more than a few axes to grind. High school senior Caitlin Browning, having triumphed over personal challenges, hopes for a quiet evening with her boyfriend. Reverend Chris Dietrich has a special surprise for his weekly Bible study group. Leah McCall, TV personality and teacher, drops by the food court to visit with her best friend. Will Humphreys' part-time job at the mall offers him little relief from the relentless bullying that plagues his existence. At 5:17 PM, one of these characters' actions will change the lives of all the others. Later that night, professional crisis consultant Steven Bradley arrives to help the community deal with the aftermath. An eclectic group of authors spent six months collaborating on American Roulette, a blockbuster novel full of tension, dread, and anguish. Each author created one of the eight key characters-complete with a supporting cast-who find themselves sharing a common destiny. Readers have but a single day to get to know each of the protagonists before time and circumstances seal their fate.

America... how could you let this happen?As a career journalist and candidate for vice president of the United States, Pat LaMarche lived in homeless shelters and situations across the nation while campaigning. Her intent was to highlight the plight of folks she cared most about in our society: veterans, babies, kids and their parents, the elderly and the tempest-tossed (to quote Emma Lazarus from the Statue of Liberty). All those folks - she thought - were left out of the discussion during the 2004 election cycle. The book followed in 2005.Fast forward 15 years - Pat has since worked running homeless shelters, fought with the system, crisscrossed the nation multiple times, and directed the kindness of others to help those she identified as needy.This newly expanded book more than doubled the size of the original as Pat shares her experiences from the front lines. Mass sheltering, housing regulations, climate change caused homelessness, epic disasters affecting babies, toddlers, school kids, the working poor, veterans, and the elderly are chronicled - including Hurricane Katrina (where she was stationed as a journalist) and more recently Paradise, California, the site of the deadliest wildfires in California history which rendered 27,000 people homeless in a day. She also examines the coming eviction tsunami.As a bonus, the original 2005 book is also included.