Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The narrative follows five different families simultaneously. Did you find this multiple-perspective structure effective in conveying the scale of Atlanta’s housing crisis, or did you wish the book had focused on just one family’s journey at a time?

2. How does the book compare to other works of narrative nonfiction you have read about poverty or social issues, such as Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed or Matthew Desmond’s Evicted? What did you find unique about Goldstone’s focus on Atlanta’s specific history of urban development, including the BeltLine and the demolition of its public housing?

3. The book’s title, There Is No Place for Us, is a direct quote from Britt’s reflection at the end of the book. How did this title resonate with you as you read about each family’s struggle to find and maintain a home in a city that seems to be actively pushing them out? Did the title bring to mind similar titles of literary or other works?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and key figures with their personal experiences.

1. What does the concept of “home” mean to you after reading this book? How did the stories of families living in extended-stay motels, in their cars, or in precarious rentals change or deepen your own definition of what makes a place a home?

2. Maurice and Natalia moved to Atlanta because they viewed it as a “Black Mecca,” a place where they could find opportunity and prosperity. The book explores the gap between their expectations and their lived reality as residents. Have you ever experienced a similar disconnect between the reputation or promise of a place and its reality?

3. Throughout the book, the profiled families face immense frustration navigating bureaucratic systems, from housing vouchers to childcare subsidies. Think about a time when you had to deal with a complex or impersonal system. How did the experience shape your reaction to the challenges that Kara, Michelle, and Britt faced?

4. The book argues that a full-time job no longer guarantees housing stability. Did the stories of people like Kara, who worked tirelessly at a hospital, or Maurice, who worked at an agency renting cars he couldn’t afford, challenge your views on the relationship between work, wages, and security?

5. The concept of the “invisible homeless” (families who are not on the street or in shelters but live in motels, cars, or with relatives) is central to the book. In what ways did the narrative make you more aware of the hidden aspects of housing insecurity in your own community?

6. Community support, from LA Pink’s grassroots organizing to friends offering a couch, often provided the only real safety net for these families. What role do you think community and mutual aid should play in addressing systemic problems like the housing crisis?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the book connect Atlanta’s local policy decisions, such as the demolition of public housing and the development of the BeltLine, to the nationwide crisis of housing affordability?

2. The book argues that HUD’s narrow definition of “literal homelessness” conceals the full scale of the crisis. What are the social and political consequences of undercounting entire populations of housing-insecure families? How might public policy change if we adopted a broader definition?

3. Goldstone details how private equity firms and corporate landlords profit from the precarity of low-income families through high fees, automated evictions, and the “hotel trap.” What questions does the book raise about the role of profit-driven corporations in the housing sector, given that housing provides a fundamental human need?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What is the effect of Goldstone’s ethnographic approach, through which he embeds himself in the families’ lives for years? How does this immersive reporting shape the narrative and its emotional impact compared to a more traditional journalistic account?

2. The book describes each of the women it profiles as incredibly resilient and creative, despite their facing trauma, from domestic violence to the loss of a child. How does Goldstone’s focus on these women’s agency and determination contribute to the book’s larger critique of systemic failure?

3. Goldstone portrays the city of Atlanta as, paradoxically, a setting of both opportunity and exclusion. How does he use specific locations (like the gentrifying Chosewood Park, the abandoned corridor of Candler Road, and the gleaming new developments) to build a map of inequality?

4. How does the recurring presence of cars represent aspects of the families’ stories in the book? Consider its role and symbolism in Kara and Britt’s lives.

5. The book juxtaposes the failure of formal institutions with the power of grassroots organizers like LA Pink and legal advocates like Lindsey Siegel. What argument do you think Goldstone is making about where to find the most effective solutions to the housing crisis?

6. Goldstone’s journalistic method in There Is No Place for Us is deeply immersive, similar to Barbara Ehrenreich’s in Nickel and Dimed. How does Goldstone’s choice to remain an observer, telling the stories of others, differ in its effect from Ehrenreich’s first-person experiment of living on low wages herself?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The organizing efforts of the Gladstone Apartments residents fade as individual crises take over. Develop a realistic, step-by-step plan for how they could have sustained their tenant association’s momentum. What resources would they have needed, and what specific actions could have led to a different outcome?

2. Imagine that you are a city council member in Atlanta who has just finished reading this book and wants to enact meaningful change. Draft a short proposal for a new housing initiative inspired by one of the families’ experiences, and explain why their story makes it a priority.

3. Choose one of the five women profiled in the book and design a public awareness campaign that tells her story. What key moments from her journey would you highlight in a series of posters or a short social media video to communicate the systemic nature of her struggle to a wider audience?