The door to Rosie’s Place opened in 1974 in Boston, Massachusetts, when social activist Kip Tiernan founded it as the first drop-in and emergency shelter for women in the United States. In the years since, Rosie’s Place has evolved from simply providing shelter to creating solutions for long-term independence by empowering its guests, when possible, to live independent lives. It became a prototype for like organizations that are now in place nationwide. Journalist Andrea Cleghorn profiles the people (staffers, volunteers, benefactors, guests) at this famous sanctuary, weaving the facts about Rosie’s Place with true stories about the people who make it work, including the guests themselves.
“I have so often wondered what goes on at Rosie’s Place. Now I know. This highly readable, even more highly inspirational book showed me how a women’s shelter can offer its residents so much more than food and lodging—namely, a sense of self-worth and a rebirth of hope.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of Durable Goods and Talk Before Sleep
“Want to give your soul and ethical spirit a shot of inspiration? Immerse yourself in Andrea Cleghorn’s powerful probe of Rosie’s Place. It’s guaranteed to restore a smidgen of faith in the human nature we are so routinely hyped to despise.”—Jack Mendelsohn, Unitarian Universalist Minister
“Cleghorn paints an intimate portrait of the women who inhabit Rosie’s Place.…The overall tone is quite positive and hopeful about solutions.”—Library Journal
