Synopses & Reviews
Once a happily married businessman, avid golfer, and the proud owner of several luxury cars and three boats, conservative-minded Richard LeMieux saw his fortune change almost overnight. In this astonishingly heartfelt memoir, he describes his descent into homelessness and his struggle to survive personal and economic disaster. Evicted from his home in 2002 and living with his dog, Willow, in a beat-up old van, LeMieux finds himself penniless and estranged from his family and friends. He dines at the Salvation Army (aka Sallys), attempts suicide, and is treated at a mental hospital where he is diagnosed with depression.
Writing on a secondhand manual typewriter, first at a picnic table in a public park, and then wherever he can, LeMieux describes his odyssey and the quirky, diverse, and endearing cast of characters found among the homeless people of Bremerton, Washington, and, by extension, every-where else. Breakfast at Sallys is a rare inside-look at how the other America lives, and how one man, beaten down and alone, was able to reconnect, find good people, and ultimately, with their help, to persevere.
Review
"For those who yearn to believe in the basic decency of most human beings, this book provides abundant evidence." Seattle Times
Review
"It's easy to look from afar onto the world LeMieux writes about. People panhandling on corners. Living in cars. Most of us probably figure they've always been down. But how far did they fall? Maybe farther than we think." Danny Westneat
Synopsis
The well-reviewed memoir of one man's descent into homelessness with an uplifting message that is essential for our time.
Synopsis
"The book reads like a novel . . . But it has the ring of truth, and an uplifting message that endures."--The New York Times
About the Author
Richard LeMieux is a writer and ex-businessman and has been homeless to varying degrees for years. He is now a public speaker and travels to various events throughout America, talking about Breakfast at Sally's and his experiences as a homeless person. He and Willow lived together in Bremerton, Washington, until Willow's passing on November 21st, 2009.