Mayor of the Tenderloin
Del Seymour's Journey from Living on the Streets to Fighting Homelessness in San Francisco
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Mayor of the Tenderloin
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Narrated by:
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Jeremy Durm
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By:
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Alison Owings
About this listen
The unforgettable account of Del Seymour, who overcame 18 years of homelessness and addiction to become one of the most respected advocates in San Francisco
In Mayor of the Tenderloin, journalist Alison Owings slips behind the cold statistics and sensationalism surrounding San Francisco’s Tenderloin to reveal a harrowing and life-affirming account of Del Seymour—whose addiction led him into eighteen years of homelessness, pimping, and drug dealing. Once sober, he started Tenderloin Walking Tours and later Code Tenderloin, the remarkable organization teaching homeless, recovering addicts, sex workers, dealers, ex-felons, and other marginalized people how to get and keep a job.
Owings traces Del’s story and those in his orbit: from his daughters, sobriety buddy, and ex-girlfriend, to a police captain and a psychiatric social worker, housing activists and corporate philanthropists, and Del’s Code Tenderloin students. In the Tenderloin, in a city known for its beauty and currently infamous for its divide between haves and have-nots, Owings highlights how Del gives back to people struggling with the same daunting setbacks—including a criminal record—he once faced.
Honest and compelling, Mayor of the Tenderloin follows homelessness in one of America’s toughest neighborhoods as it was lived—in the words of someone who lived it and is now fighting to solve it.
©2024 Alison Owings (P)2024 Beacon Press AudioCritic reviews
“In this impressive book, author Alison Owings brings colorful anecdotes of Del’s life and of his continued advocacy for the downtrodden in San Francisco. This is a memorable biography that proves to be both entertaining and life-affirming.”—Booklist
“Thoroughly enjoyable, and at some points, a romp to read.”—Bay City News
“[A] richly satisfying tapestry. . . . the scintillating volume of knowledge put forth is well worth the reading journey.”—San Francisco Chronicle
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