So much so, that he set out to prove the American dream is not dead and is attainable by anyone willing to work hard for it.

After reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s book “Nickel and Dimed,” which describes how low-wage workers can’t get ahead, he was determined to prove her wrong. While he says this author made some great points, he knew that what  looms over American culture is the American dream still alive.

Shephard set out to find the answer.

He arrived by train late one night in Charleston with only $25, a sleeping bag and the hope that he could prove the American dream is alive and well.

He did it, and published his memoirs about the experience, titled Scratch Beginnings.

A recent visit back

Cario Middle School teacher Rebecca Kutcher discovered his book in the beginning of the year. She shared it with student Lindsay Halewood who was quite taken with Scratch Beginnings.

She contacted Shephard and shared with him how much his book inspired her. He wrote back to her and contacted Kutcher about a possible visit to the school.

He made his grand appearance April 23 and was greeted with cheers and applause from 50 or so middle school students and teachers who all bought and read the book. This was the only way they could get in on the intimate question and answer session with Shephard.

Each student who wanted to participate was allowed to ask at least one question.

The first was whether Shephard felt guilty for taking resources away from those who really needed them.

He explained that there was always room in the shelter to sleep, in a corner on the floor and on spaghetti night there was always plenty to eat, often chances for shelter residents to get second and third helpings.

But the $80 he received from DSS for food stamps gave him cause to reflect.

And while some may describe it as stealing from the system, Shephard has given back to the very systems that helped him, including Crisis Ministries.

He’s gone back and told everyone the truth about who he was and stays in touch with the staff at Crisis Ministries.

But the men who he bunked with and ate with for 70 days come and go. He didn’t recognize any faces the last time he went to Crisis Ministries for a visit.

However, he still remains close friends with Derrick, the hero of the book. On his recent trip to Charleston, he stayed with Derrick and his family in their new home.

Shephard was asked what his biggest regret was.

“There isn’t anything I would have changed. Not a single thing,” he said.

So what kept him going?

He said it was the fact that he was fortunate to have come from two loving parents and he recognized that. He said he just knew that he had to do what he had to do to succeed.

“All it was about for me was a steady paycheck and checks and balances,” Shephard said.

Playing to everyone’s curiosity, one student asked him if he managed to find a girlfriend during his time in Charleston.

He did, however it was only because he won the opportunity to take a 95SX radio personality out on a date for Valentines Day.

“I should have written a chapter on her,” Shephard said.

He went to the Goodwill and bought a sports coat and some slacks, and managed to score a few dates with Brooke Ryan after the initial contest date.

And dressed in that same Goodwill sports coat, he said, what surprised him the most about the whole experience was the fact that he was guilty of stereotyping, especially in the beginning.

“I envisioned the typical homeless guy to be a fat, bald guy with whiskey on his breath,” Shephard said. “But I was able to live among a fascinating group of guys. There were some guys like my dad minus the shirt and tie and the paper to walk away with after graduation”

And to the student who asked, ‘why did you care?’ Shephard said, “because it should matter to everybody.”

The book

Shephard said he never really focused on who his audience would be. The book was written purely from the journals he kept during his journey.

He wrote every night for an hour or more so that the details and the events would still be fresh in his mind.

Shephard still has his journals and encouraged the students to take up journaling.

He knew from the beginning that he would self publish his book.

What became quickly evident for him after the release of his self published book, is that it appealed to all ages.

Shephard wrote the truth, however hurtful and painful it might be to some. He changed names to protect the privacy of certain individuals. But in the book’s forward, he warns readers that profanity was not edited out of the book because the language that some of the people he met along the way used, captured their characters.

“I wanted to make sure the dialogue was real,” he said.

Shephard prohibited himself from using previous contacts or his education. He set the goal that in one year he will have $2500, a car, a furnished apartment, and, most importantly, he must be in a position where he can continue to improve his circumstances by either going to school or starting his own business.

The journey

On a July evening in 2006, Shephard stepped off a train, asked where the homeless shelter was and started walking.

He met some shady characters along the  eight mile trek to Crisis Ministries in downtown Charleston.

But that first night is something he will never forget.

“I don’t recommend anyone goes to Rivers Avenue late at night with $25 in your pocket,” he said with a chuckle.

Shephard said he could have written this story in any city - in any place. By pulling a slip from a hat, he chose Charleston from a list he’d compiled. When he arrived in North Charleston he didn’t quite understand where he was. His idea of Charleston encompassed Rhett Butler and “Gone with the Wind.”

He wasn’t as much nervous as he was anxious when he arrived. Shephard looked at it as a man with $25 in his pocket and his whole life in front of him.

The only question that remained was “what am I going to do?”

He found some footing amongst the other tenants and picked up a few day jobs as the days slipped by.

Eventually Shephard landed a job with a local moving company, found an apartment and started saving.

“In the end none of the people I met along the way cared about who I was or where I came from. In the end it’s about where we’re going,” he said.

Would Shephard consider doing this again?

“No. absolutely not,” he said. “Am I a young authored coming out of my shell? No.”

Shephard spent only 10 months in Charleston due to his mother falling ill. But he left having had an apartment and $5,300 saved and, of course, his 1988 GMC Sierra, which at the time started with a turn of a screwdriver.

He left that truck with Derrick.

Upon his return to his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., he got a job as a skycap to finance the publishing of his book. He eventually stopped working weekdays and took on weekend shifts to promote the book’s release.

Last week, Harper Collins bought the rights to the book which will be published in hardback.

He’s gotten lots of reactions to his book. Some even blog about the American dream being dead and Shephard being dead wrong.

He knows there are two sides to this story and has been told that “just because you did it doesn’t mean everyone can do it.”

Shephard’s definition of the American dream is the ‘freedom to wake up every morning and do whatever I want to do with my life.”

The Web site to learn more is www.scratchbeginnings.com.

(Sully Witte can be reached at editor@moultrienews.com. See more stories online at www.moultrienews.com)