Breakfast at Sally's

“The book reads like a novel... But it has the ring of truth, and an uplifting message that endures.” (The New York Times)

Once a happily married businessman, an avid golfer, and the proud owner of several luxury cars and three boats, conservative-minded Richard LeMieux saw his fortune change almost overnight. In this now classic memoir that has touched thousands of readers across the globe, LeMieux describes his descent into homelessness and his struggle to survive personal and economic disaster.

Evicted from his home in 2002 and living with his dog, Willow, in a beat-up old van, LeMieux finds himself penniless and estranged from his family and friends. He dines at the Salvation Army (Sally’s), attempts suicide, and is treated at a mental hospital, where he is diagnosed with depression.

Writing on a secondhand manual typewriter, first at a picnic table in a public park, and then wherever he can, LeMieux describes his odyssey and the quirky, diverse, and endearing cast of characters found among the homeless people of Bremerton, Washington, and by extension, everywhere else.

Breakfast at Sally’s is a rare inside look at how the other America lives, and how one man, beaten down and alone, was able to reconnect, to find good people, and, ultimately, with their help, to persevere. Updated with an all-new chapter, interviews with the author, a book club guide, and an obituary for Willow.