Blessed Returns: A Student’s Summer in One of America’s Poorest Cities

Camden, New Jersey, is quite possibly the most troubled and dangerous city in America. But a far different story lies beneath this cold surface. It is a story of hope, of voices struggling desperately against deaf ears. In the summer of 1999, a college student named Stuart Albright arrived in Camden full of youthful idealism and a naive sense of justice. Blessed Returns is the moving, deeply personal account of a young man’s coming-of-age amidst a tumultuous and life-changing summer. Albright worked at a youth facility in the heart of Camden’s blighted, industrial core, and he discovered a community governed by faith and resilience in the face of unimaginable despair. It is a place filled with passionate and unforgettable characters. Moving seamlessly between a heartbreaking tale of loss and a forceful call for social change, this book is a message that cries out to be heard. It is a story laid bare with all the honesty and confession of a meaningful prayer.