The Women Outside: Meanings and Myths of Homelessness

In this scholarly examination, freelance journalist Golden argues that we must banish our sense of separation from homeless women if we are to understand and help them. She draws on extensive research and four years' experience in the late '70s and early '80s as a volunteer at a private New York City homeless shelter. After opening with a detailed description of the lives of the female homeless today she devotes the latter two thirds of her book to an unusual interdisciplinary approach, in which she draws parallels between contemporary homeless women and the witches of myths and fairy tales; gives a historical overview of homelessness; and looks at the varying and highly subjective ways in which society has perceived madness, calling into question the assumption that many homeless women are mentally ill. These angles clarify much that straight reportage would not, and support the author's thesis that the images we associate with homeless women often say more about our society than they do about the women themselves. Yet the depth of analysis, as well as Golden's sometimes convoluted prose, is likely to limit the book's audience to academics who, in turn, may be disturbed by her overreliance, at times, on anecdotal evidence and personal opinion. A greater use of case histories and the inclusion of more comment from homeless women would have widened the work's appeal and made its arguments more persuasive. (May)