“A remarkable book. Rivlin re-creates the panic and heartbreak of small-business owners in the time of COVID, touching on everything from staffing issues to governmental hypocrisy to citizen rage, and always with an unwavering novelist’s eye. The result is the story of the way we live now: divided, shell-shocked, and picking up the pieces as best we can.” — Joshua Ferris, author of A Calling for Charlie Barnes
“Everything you think you know about small business in America will be upended in this surprising and inspiring investigation of America’s Main Streets. You’ll be introduced to a remarkable, resilient group of small-business owners who somehow kept going through COVID. These are true entrepreneurs—far from the epicenter of Silicon Valley, but they know how to move quickly, pivot, and adapt to keep their enterprises alive.” — Charles Duhigg, author of bestsellers The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“Gary Rivlin isn’t just a terrific journalist, he is an unusually empathetic one, who always gives readers a powerful sense of what his subjects are feeling and hoping and praying. It is this quality that makes <i>Saving Main Street</i> such a beautiful, memorable book. His stories of small-business people trying to survive the pandemic will break your heart—and fill you with joy.” — Joe Nocera, coauthor of All the Devils Are Here
"Compelling stories at the intersection of entrepreneurial aspirations, personal obligations, and public policy." — Kirkus Reviews