New book details rebuilding a $500 house in Detroit

Do you remember the Buzzfeed article a few years ago that discussed buying a $500 house in Detroit? The article made a big impression, garnering nearly 2 million views. Now, Drew Philp has turned the article into a book that’s now available from Scribner.

“A $500 House in Detroit: Rebuilding an Abandoned Home and an American City” is a memoir that not only goes into detail about winning a $500 abandoned Poletown home in auction, but also discusses Philp finding his place in the city.

Philp moved to Detroit after graduating from the University of Michigan and worked construction. When he was 23, he bid on a Queen Anne that had been left for at least a decade. The memoir goes into how he rebuilt the home, but also, according to the publisher,

“He tells the story of how he grew from a naïve college student to a resident and homeowner, fighting to protect, grow, and add to the city of Detroit without overwriting its unique character. Philp shows us Detroit’s complicated mix of gentrification, race, and class, while he attempts to find his footing in the city, the country, and his own generation.”

An excerpt of the book can be read here.