The Pursuit of Happyness, by Chris Gardner (with Quincy Troupe)

Chris Gardner is now chief executive of his own multi-million brokerage company. He wrote the story of his climb up from homelessness to financial security with Quincy Troupe, and this book was also made into a movie starring Will Smith.

He grew up in Milwaukee, with a caring mother but an abusive stepfather figure. The details of getting by, living on the edge and moving from place to place in an effort to get away from his stepfather, ring true, and the discipline he received from his mother seems to have kept him away any serious involvement with drugs or crime. In spite of her difficulties, she also instilled in him the importance of knowing who you are and staying true to your belief system. He enlisted and was trained as a Navy medic, and after his enlistment was hired by a San Francisco hospital. He leaves the medical profession and gives up his goal of being a doctor to enter the sales field, first in medical equipment and then securities.

He falls through the safety net after getting married with a young son, when he walks out on a job before starting a training program with Dean Witter. His life blows up with his wife leaving him and accusing him of beating her since he laid hands on her. He lands in jail and his many unpaid parking tickets surface, so he serves time, gets to the training program but has no resources left. His wife eventually turns over their son to him, and the reality of holding down his job and paying for daycare, food and the rest is the treadmill he walks for almost a year, until he can pay rent for a place.

How he manages and takes care of his son is impressive. This is worth reading just for showing how a homeless person sees the environment, how a simple thing like buying or not buying a soft drink is part of managing not only to survive but to stay on track.