No Way to Live
B.C. Women Speak Out

Publisher:  New Star Books, Vancouver, Canada
Year Published:  1988
Pages:  234pp   ISBN:  ISBN 0-919573-81-9
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX3488

Abstract: 
No Way to Live is both an account of the plight of B.C. women and children caught up in the intricate web of social welfare, and a "call to action", aimed at poor women everywhere to fight the injustices of the system. In it, Sheila Baxter, herself a welfare recipient, interviews over 50 women in B.C., of diverse social and educational backgrounds, who in revealing their personal experiences are given a rare opportunity to voice their anger and frustration. Their anger against the attitudes of society towards their predicament; against the unsympathetic treatment and harassment they are forced to endure by some bureaucratic social workers; against an unfair and cruel system which destroys their self-esteem and self-confidence. With so many restrictions on providing day-care facilities and travel passes which they need in order to work, they are often forced to remain on welfare. No Way to Live is by no means negative - the women being introduced talk about their personal experiences of poverty, while at the same time offering many ideas and possible solutions to the problem.