Quotes from Jessica Bruder

this village was populated by members of the "precariat": temporary laborers doing short-term jobs in exchange for low wages.

Amazon had recruited these workers as part of a program it calls CamperForce: a labor unit made up of nomads who work as seasonal employees at several of its warehouses, which the company calls "fulfillment centers," or FCs.

But for them—as for anyone—survival isn't enough.

In the coming years, he'd try to fill that void with whatever was at hand: debt, food, sex, religion.

a glimpse of utopia.

in Linda's words: "Living a life of plenty with what you have.

The workers' shifts last ten hours or longer, during which some walk more than fifteen miles on concrete floors, stooping, squatting, reaching, and climbing stairs as they scan, sort, and box merchandise.

The truth as I see it is that people can both struggle and remain upbeat simultaneously, through even the most soul-testing of challenges. This doesn't mean they're in denial. Rather, it testifies to the remarkable ability of humankind to adapt, to seek meaning and kinship when confronted with adversity.

These indignities underscore a larger question: When do impossible choices start to tear people—a society—apart?

When I stopped to use the restroom, the inside of my stall had a chart with a color palette ranging from pale yellow to terrifying puce. It instructed me to find the shade that matched my urine and suggested that I should be drinking more water.