A man loses his job at fifty-two, too young to retire and too old, he fears, to be hired again. The severance runs out and unemployment insurance ends and suddenly he is choosing between groceries and medication, selling belongings to make rent, lying awake calculating numbers that never add up. The shame is as crushing as the poverty. A single mother works two jobs and still cannot afford both rent and food, the constant stress of scarcity making it hard to be the parent she wants to be. She snaps at her children, then hates herself for it.