Breakfast at Sally's: One Homeless Man's Inspirational Journey

I should start off saying that I bought this book because the main setting of the book is my hometown, Bremerton. Richard LeMieux describes his latter part of his life where he faces homelessness due to a crumbling economic situation, and discusses the challenges faced by homeless and vagrants today. It was a fairly easy read and I would recommend it to most people today. It is fascinating seeing what problems are faced by those less fortunate. My only issue is how much emphasis there was on donating to the Salvation Army. As much as I love helping people in need, I don't think the Salvation Army is the best choice for donating (due to political motivations). I understand what the Salvation Army does, but this book comes off as essentially begging for donations.

This is a memoir by a man who lost everything--except his humanity. Richard LeMieux had it all--a palatial home, a family, a business, luxury cars, boats--all the outward trappings of success. But after a series of business reverses, he was evicted from his home, abandoned by his family, and found himself living in a van on the streets of Bremerton, Washington, with his dog Willow ("the wonder dog") his only companion. Richard began writing this memoir on a beat-up manual typewriter while still homeless. Its pages are populated by the many memorable people he met on his journey--some sad, some broken by life and nearing its end, but many others amazingly resilient in the face of adversity. Most memorable among them is a homeless man simply known as C. Whenever C appears, Richard knows an adventure is sure to follow. C turns out to be a skilled dumpster diver and a reliable source of marijuana to a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Sometimes there's embarrassment (such as the time the author and C were asked to leave a Wal-Mart after C protested the store's low wages too loudly). But through acts of kindness great and small chronicled in these pages, C proves to be a beacon of kindness and hope to everyone he encounters. Richard is a former sportswriter, and he shows great skill for observing detail and recording memorable dialogue. You'll truly live the story with him--and be better as a result. The "Sally's" mentioned in the title is the local Salvation Army mission in Bremerton, where Richard and his new friends found safety, shelter from the unrelenting dreariness of Pacific Northwest winters, hot meals and companionship. I am an elected official who spearheaded efforts in my community to develop a local ten-year plan to end homelessness. As part of our plan, we've now held two Project Homeless Connect events. Project Homeless Connect is a national model that's been held in more than 160 communities to date. It's a one-day service fair for people experiencing homelessness, but it's more than that. It's an opportunity for members of the community to connect with these individuals in a very personal way. We had about 100 volunteers at our second event, serving 133 guests, and one of the most heartening things I heard from the volunteers was that they no longer feared the man on the street corner, but now would feel comfortable striking up a conversation. I think you'll have the same reaction after reading this book.--William C. Hall

Few books that I have read can be called a "game changer" in my life. To read Richard Lemieux's account of becoming homeless and the adventures he lived through was a troubling delight. I needed to hear his story and I needed to be disturbed enough to reach out and do something about it. I will be purchasing 50 copies of the book and will give them out as a gift to people in my community who give $1,000 or more to the Salvation Army and all of their wonderful causes. Whether this changes anyone's life or not it was a great read and a humbling experience vicariously living Richard's life from 2002 to 2006.

"Breakfast At Sally's" is written with the attention to detail a former newspaperman should have. The scenes are described with an accuracy that makes it possible to retrace Richard's steps. The people are shown to be individual personalities with their own strengths and weaknesses, and their own cares and dreams. The story is not fictional; people really live lives with no certainty of anything except unfulfilled needs. My wife and I were so moved after we read the book and met Richard that we bought two more copies for friends, and went to the Bremerton Salvation Army to see if they need us. Major Baker is there, Chef Pat, and several of the named characters in the book, plus an assortment of those who have little in the land of plenty. Of course they need any help they can get, so we both found jobs. That is the key to "Breakfast At Sally's"; you cannot read it and go on with your life unaware that a small effort can change a person's life, maybe rescue them. We will never take for granted our blessings, and never look on those without as if they are inferior. This book is a jolt to complacency, a wake up call to those who are desensitized by material excess. I read it in five days, but I was reading it aloud as my wife recovered from surgery. We will never forget.

In any given day in San Francisco there are over 6,000 homeless individuals. Through personal interaction with those who are homeless I've learned alot about them... and even more about myself. Richard LeMieux's book is a collection of stories that are raw at times and heart warming others. Richard (and Willow) put a face and a name to homelessness and reminds each of us that many of us are living in a glass house that could be shattered tomorrow. Books have been written on homelessness in the past, sometimes by those who lived it. What makes this book unique is that Richard had the forsight to write the book while he was homeless - not as a book for you and I to read but as therapy for himself. He carefully introduces you to the charcters he meets and shares there all too real stories. As someone who loves and works with the homeless, I'm thrilled this book was published. It puts a very human touch on who the homeless are, how someone could end up homeless, what it means to land there and even more remarkably what it takes to get out. If you choose to read this book you will never be the same.

I'll never look at another homeless person again in the same way. Although I thought I knew and understood the homeless after ten years working with The Salvation Army, after reading Breakfast at Sally's, I have a greater respect for the compassion, challenges and unconditional acceptance the homeless offer to all. Richard LeMieux and his cast of unforgettable characters, Andy, Dorothea, Adam, Major Baker and of course 'C', made it as enjoyable as it was moving. I loved this book. More than ever, in these economic times, everyone in America needs to read Breakfast at Sally's. Richard writes; "I could go on a bitter journey to a place of anger and hate, or head out on the highway of grace and kindness, though it may be the road less traveled and in greater need of repair." This inspirational book will serve as a travel guide to the road of grace and kindness. John Sebby Executive Director of Development The Salvation Army Intermountain Division