Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

New York Times Bestseller • Pulitzer Prize–winning author

Some books don’t just tell a story — they change the way you see the world. This is one of them.

From the author of Mountains Beyond Mountains comes a deeply human portrait of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a Harvard-trained physician who walked away from a prestigious career path to spend his nights on the streets of Boston — bringing medicine, soup, socks, and genuine friendship to the city’s most vulnerable residents. What began as a one-year commitment became a lifetime’s calling.

Tracy Kidder spent five years alongside O’Connell and his colleagues, witnessing firsthand the quiet heroism of caring for people most of society has learned to look past. The result is a book that is equal parts biography, social reckoning, and love letter to the belief that every person deserves to be seen.

“I couldn’t put Rough Sleepers down. I am left in awe of the human spirit and inspired to do better.” — Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, BookPage, and Chicago Public Library, this is narrative nonfiction at its most urgent and its most tender.

It’s the kind of book you’ll press into someone else’s hands the moment you finish. The kind that lingers long after you’ve closed the cover — like salt air after a walk along the Marginal Way.

• New York Times Bestseller
• By Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tracy Kidder
• Best Book of the Year: NPR, BookPage, Chicago Public Library

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