

The book was adapted into a short documentary film, CamperForce (2017), in which Bruder served as a producer alongside director Brett Story and executive producer Laura Poitras. Some have become friends for whom she has a deep affection." Film adaptations

They are portrayed with respect and admiration. In the nomad world, Bruder encounters an array of appealing characters. The people she meets and the stories they tell are powerful in their own right." Joe Martin of Real Change commented, "Bruder’s narrative provides an entrée into the lives of resilient Americans meeting challenges with courage and humor. Her instinct to get out of the way is wise. She does, however, insert herself into the narrative, sometimes intrusively.

Smith of The Denver Post wrote, "Bruder, who teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, writes in an evenhanded, impartial tone, avoiding polemicism. Engaging, highly relevant immersion journalism." Timothy R. expands her remarkable cover story for Harper’s into a book about low-income Americans eking out a living while driving from locale to locale for seasonal employment. Kirkus review stated: "Journalist Bruder. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award, and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award and the international Ryszard Kapuściński Award. The book was named a "Notable Book" by The New York Times, was a finalist for the J. The book was adapted into the 2020 film of the same name, which was awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is a 2017 nonfiction book by American journalist Jessica Bruder about the phenomenon of older Americans who, following the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009, adopted transient lifestyles traveling around the United States in search of seasonal work ( vandwelling).
