What comes to mind when you think of retirement? Do you have a vision of grandchildren sitting up on your lap, or of watching the world go by from a rocking chair on your front porch? Do you see an endless string of peaceful days, broken only by the excitement of Bingo Night Thursdays in the church basement?
If so, then you might be living in the past.
Sometime around 2008, at the height of of the Great Recession, tens of thousands of older Americans faced the frightening prospect of not being able to make ends meet. We could debate the root cause of the problem forever— and economists probably will— but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. Whether it was due to a widespread lack of personal preparedness or endemic levels of corporate greed, a frightening number of mid-career professionals were suddenly struggling to support themselves.
If you’re even remotely familiar with American history, you already know that this same situation came up a few generations ago, during the Great Depression. Starting in 1929, millions of working men took to the roads, searching for work wherever it was available. These days, an unknown number of Americans have had to make the same choice, and Nomadland is a fascinating look into their journey.
We should start by making one thing clear— Nomadland stands far apart from #VanLife, that Instagram trend where young, attractive social media influencers glamorize their lifestyle of exploring America in their customized campervans. Nomadland is a study of people who live this way out of necessity, not by choice. And even though some of these mobile laborers might be fortunate enough to receive subsidies from retirement savings or Social Security benefits, most face a terrifying level of instability. Underemployment is a chronic problem among these nomads as they move across the country, chasing the next seasonal or temporary employment.
Nomadland is definitely an interesting read. Throughout the book, even though author Jessica Bruder does her best to maintain a journalist’s detachment, her respect for her subjects is obvious. By purchasing her own van and hitting the road, Bruder manages to immerse herself in the mobile community and gain an insider’s perspective of the Nomads’ resourcefulness and independence. Bruder follows her community on a circular route of seasonal employment, from campgrounds and national parks in the summertime, to farms at the end of harvest season. Each year is capped off by a stint at an Amazon distribution center, where the workload surges to meet the demands of online holiday shopping.
But Bruder’s project, while awesome, is hardly a new concept. A full decade before, in the late 1990s, author Barbara Ehrenreich did the same thing— almost— for her best-selling book, “Nickel and Dimed.”
Unlike Bruder, who was fairly transparent in her interactions with the Nomads, Ehrenreich basically went “undercover” and immersed herself in the world of low-paying service jobs. Despite holding several several jobs at the same time, it wasn’t long before Ehrenreich reached the conclusion that most people working as a waitress, house cleaner, or a retail clerk simply wouldn’t be able to earn enough money to survive, let alone get ahead.
So much for that whole American Dream.
With such a downer for a topic, you wouldn’t think that either of these books would’ve done as well as they did. But in an odd twist of fate, Nomadland turned out to be a best seller as well, and was even made into an award-winning movie.
Frances McDormand played the lead role in the film, portraying a middle-aged widower who adopts a transient lifestyle after her late husband’s company goes bankrupt. The movie becomes a quasi-documentary at this point, with the scripted scenes moving the narrative forward, mixed in with footage of McDormand interacting with her community of Nomads. Some of the most compelling clips, though, are the “hidden camera” moments, where McDormand records the grueling conditions of working at campgrounds, farms, and Amazon distribution centers.
No matter whether you go for the book or the movie, Nomadland is an awesome chance to learn more about a fascinating group of people. Because as it turns out, pretty much everybody in America has their own unique story to tell…