Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy

Authors

Pamela Foohey, University of Georgia School of LawFollow
Robert M. Lawless, University of IllinoisFollow
Deborah Thorne, University of IdahoFollow

Previously posted to the University of California Press website.

Abstract

Debt’s Grip tells the story of financial struggle in the United States. Drawing on original data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, a landmark long-term study, the authors use the words of bankruptcy filers themselves to shed light on their battles to keep their homes and their cars, pay for healthcare and higher education, care for their children, find adequate employment, retire, negotiate with debt collectors, and confront discrimination in lending. Laying bare the consequences of risk privatization, this book makes a powerful case for why the United States must confront the structural inequities that cause so many—especially Black families, women, and the elderly—to struggle in today’s economy.

Repository Citation

Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, and Deborah Thorne, Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy (2025),
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/1748