Downwardly Mobile: Before Helicopter Parents and Satellite Radio - Softcover

Blue Ridge Books LLC; Vermeulen, J E

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1977281389 ISBN 13: 9781977281388

Publisher: Outskirts Press, 2026

Synopsis

Downwardly Mobile is a data-supported, sociopolitical memoir that chronicles one family's devastating fall from riches to rags. Set in suburban Chicago, it follows a well-resourced white family whose lives unravel after concurrent job losses, multiple insurance-denied medical claims, and the fallout from the 2008-09 market crash strip away their life savings, leaving them on the jagged edge of homelessness.

As the years pass and stable employment remains out of reach, rising taxes further erode what little remains. In a moment of desperation, the husband secretly activates a $100,000 home equity line of credit they cannot repay. This betrayal becomes a breaking point, threatening to unravel the marriage and fracture the family's foundation.

Amid hardship and uncertainty, the family discovers what matters most: faith, family, friendship, and, above all, love. Together, these prove more enduring and valuable than any form of financial security.

Timely, relevant, and deeply personal, Downwardly Mobile speaks to anyone who has struggled to stay afloat in the face of economic hardship. It will resonate with parents navigating job loss, families making sacrifices for their children, and anyone who has believed in the promise of the American dream, only to see it tested by reality.

About this title

About the Author

Jane Vermeulen is a former urban planner and writer for the Chicago Tribune and for assorted Eastern Seaboard business publications. She splits her life between the Appalachian Mountains and Southwest Florida where she lives with her current husband and three rescue cats.

Edition details

• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1977281389
• ISBN 13: 9781977281388
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 274