But for them— as for anyone— survival isn’t enough. So what began as a last- ditch effort has become a battle cry for something greater. Being human means yearning for more than subsistence. As much as food or shelter, we require hope.
And there is hope on the road. It’s a by- product of forward momentum. A sense of opportunity, as wide as the country itself. A bone- deep conviction that something better will come. It’s just ahead, in the next town, the next gig, the next chance encounter with a stranger.
As it happens, some of those strangers are nomads, too. When they meet— online, or at a job, or camping way off the grid— tribes begin to form. There’s a common understanding, a kinship. When someone’s van breaks down, they pass the hat. There’s a contagious feeling: Something big is happening. The country is changing rapidly, the old structures crumbling away, and they’re at the epicenter of something new. Around a shared campfire, in the middle of the night, it can feel like a glimpse of utopia.
As I write, it is autumn. Soon winter will come. Routine layoffs will start at the seasonal jobs. The nomads will pack up camp and return to their real home— the road— moving like blood cells through the veins of the country. They’ll set out in search of friends and famiily, or just a place that’s warm. Some will journey clear across the continent. All will count the miles, which unspool like a filmstrip of America. Fast- food joints and shopping malls. Fields dormant under frost. Auto dealerships, megachurches, and all- night diners. Featureless plains. Feedlots, dead factories, subdivisions, and big- box stores. Snowcapped peaks. The roadside reels past, through the day and into darkness, until fatigue sets in. Bleary- eyed, they find places to pull off the road and rest. In Walmart parking lots. On quiet suburban streets. At truck stops, amid the lullaby of idling engines. Then in the early morning hours— before anyone notices— they’re back on the highway. Driving on, they’re secure in this knowledge: The last free place in America is a parking spot.
The book introduces to the reader the Bruder universe, through the recording of the life of the modern nomads of the USA, who have abandoned the traditional meaning of home by moving on the street for life. The Greek version was translated by George Papadimitriou.
The book has already received rave reviews from critics and audiences, topping the New York Times Best Sellers Paperback Nonfiction list. The author’s pen, which masterfully balances between optimism and despair, creates a journalistic journal that remains etched in the reader’s mind. The elegance of writing and the compassionate look at the life of modern nomads, leaves an indelible imprint and magnetizes the mind and heart.
The book was the inspiration for the multi-award winning film “Nomadland” by Chloé Zhao, with 3 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Frances McDormand and 2 Golden Globes for Best Picture, Best Picture and Best Picture showcasing the uniqueness of Bruder’s writing translated through the artistic gaze of the director.
