Muriel D. Ryan’s Homeless I Have Known Puts Human Stories Behind Homelessness

Homelessness is often described in the abstract: a statistic, a policy problem, a person glimpsed and quickly forgotten.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 10th Sep 2026 - Homeless I Have Known, a memoir by Muriel D. Ryan, PhD, pushes back against that anonymity, drawing on nearly a decade of ministry to introduce readers to nine individuals by name, history, and character.

Ryan’s path to this work began after a long career in public education. Born and raised on a small farm near Terre Haute, Indiana, she earned degrees from Indiana State University, the University of Indianapolis, IUPUI, Indiana University, and the University of Minnesota, where she later served as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. After retiring, she and her husband, Bernard Ryan—known locally as “the other Dr. Ryan”—turned their attention to homelessness and poverty in their community.

In 2006, the couple founded Families by Choice, a home-missions ministry built around the belief that people can pursue a different path rather than accept the circumstances they have been given. Beginning in 2007, the organization opened a series of shelters serving families and individuals in need: Deborah’s House for mothers with school-age children, Timothy’s House for men, and Jonathan’s Home for individuals with cognitive difficulties.

The ministry received public recognition in 2015, when Ryan and Families by Choice received a Jefferson Award for volunteerism in their local community.

Muriel D. Ryan, PhD, co-founded Families by Choice with her husband, Bernard Ryan, and served as its Executive Director. In July 2017, after Bernard suffered his first stroke, Ryan stepped down from the organization to care for him. Bernard died in January 2023 after living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Following his death, Ryan relocated to South Carolina, where she continues to write.

Ryan continues to promote Homeless I Have Known with two goals: to inform the faith community and the broader public about homelessness and its complexities, and to raise funds to establish scholarships that support research on the impact homelessness has on children and youth.

Homeless I Have Known is available on Amazon and other major online bookstores.

About Explora Books

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