MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Michele Norris.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
Author Mishna Wolff fell in love with the book because of the harshness of its characters' lives. Here she is to explain why you must read this.
MISHNA WOLFF: But surprisingly, it feels life-affirming, as though that thing that makes them try is some basic life force that cannot be killed no matter how depraved an environment it lives in - the will to survive. And there is something inspiring about their courage - to stand for themselves in this cruel neighborhood and say, I'm here, this is me, I am here.
SIEGEL: Mishna Wolff's latest book is called, "I'm Down, a Memoir." She picked "Last Exit to Brooklyn" by Hubert Selby, Jr. for our series You Must Read This.