Detroit Hustle: A Memoir of Life, Love & Home - Inspiring True Story of Urban Life & Family Bonds | Perfect for Book Clubs & Personal Growth Reading

So what happens when you buy one of those super-cheap foreclosed houses — with a destroyed interior and no working plumbing, water or electricity — and have to turn it into a livable dwelling? What does it cost, and how do you pull that off without a pot of money lying around?Amy Haimerl writes engagingly about both the practical issues (getting insurance in a city where few carriers will write policies, raiding her & her husband's retirement accounts for cash, and the heart-stopping discovery of just how much it costs to replace 40+ windows in a derelict house) and the cultural acclimation of building a new home and a new life in Detroit. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about the city now — especially the people, both the longtime residents and the new arrivals — and for fans of home-renovation (and, really, "life renovation") books like "Under the Tuscan Sun" and Julia Reed's "The House on First Street." It's also a moving tale about what happens when you feel stuck in life and decide to plunge into a dramatic change. I'd call it a 'cautionary' tale, because the process wasn't at all easy or smooth, but it's clear that Amy and Karl think every bump and moment of panic that they experienced was worth it.In the end, this is a love story about a tricky, challenging place, and the rewards that come from immersing in its battered, creative, resilient and storied community.