How do you end a book about people whose lives are still up in the air? None of the recession sufferers we spoke with in Down the Up Escalator were hungry, and only one was truly homeless. But most of them couldn’t be sure where or when they’ll work, how long they’ll be able to stay in their homes, whether they’ll ever be able to retire or to have a baby, and more generally what will happen next.
Uncertainty is painful to human beings (and to other species too, I suspect). I can’t quite bring myself to leave people I got to know personally—not to mention millions of others—in such distress. So I’ve created a Web site that we might call the ongoing book on the ongoing recession.
A book eventually gets printed. But no deadline stops me from getting back to individuals to find out how they’re getting along. Their updates, taken together, may also give us some idea how the country is getting along.
You can catch up with the folks you met in these pages at www.downtheupescalator.com.