'We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky' explores whether microcredit hurts more than it helps

Microcredit — giving small loans to poor people to help them start businesses — was an idea that won Muhammad Yunis the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. But author Mara Kardas-Nelson spent years in Sierra Leone following women who took these loans and found a broken system that often left them deeply in debt.

Nelson writes about her findings in "We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky" and speaks with host Deepa Fernandes about the book.

By Mara Kardas-Nelson

Excerpted from "We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky: The Seductive Promise of Microfinance" by Mara Kardas-Nelson. Published by Metropolitan Books. Copyright © 2024 by Mara Kardas-Nelson. All rights reserved.