In The Working Poor by David K. Shipler, Shipler analyzes the effects of poverty and the responsibility of the working poor in America. Chapter six of the book focuses on childhood traumas that influence a person's later life. In this chapter, Shipler discusses sexual abuse within families, neglectful parenting, and other factors that contribute to a poor life. It provides real-life experiences and the effects an individual's childhood had on their life. Although his examples are based on the real lives of poor people in America, he seems to have found the most extreme cases. While these situations are horrific, not all poverty-stricken people are classified under these extreme conditions. Shipler offers excellent points and facts regarding childhood traumas impacting the future, but fails to acknowledge that not all children will succumb to the struggles of poverty nor offers plausible solutions to his criticisms. Throughout the chapter, Shipler displays an extremely liberal bias. involve people in poverty. His opinion in this chapter is that childhood affects a person's future the most. He states, “Their future is crippled by their past” (Shipler 143). This quote is somewhat true. The teenage years are the most important in a person's education. However, Shipler takes this idea to the extreme and makes it seem that if a person had a bad childhood, they will end up in poverty. A real-life example she includes in this chapter is Peaches' story. Peaches had never known her birth parents, lost her adoptive family before the age of five and was forced to live in a foster family. Because of her dark skin she was discriminated against and also suffered verbal and physical abuse. ...... middle of paper ......erty. Shipler focuses only on the lasting effects of those who have not escaped the clutches of poverty. It seems to focus only on the negative aspects of childhood trauma and provides readers with little hope that children who are victims of these situations will be able to overcome and achieve anything in life. Shipler highlights some of the major drivers of poverty in this chapter, but ultimately does not examine all views of childhood trauma or point the reader in the direction to take to reach a solution. Works Cited Shipler, David. The working poor: invisible in America. First Period Books Ed. New York: Period Books, 2004. PrintCourrier, Kathleen. "Isn't that difficult?" Problems of science and technology. 21.1 (2004): 91. EBSCOhost. Database. March 12, 2014.Lenkowsky, Leslie. “Down and out?” Commentary 117.5 (2004): 71-73. EBSCOhost. Database. March 7 2014.