Her memoir Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America is about her life as a member of the working poor.
Peter Coy from Bloomberg Businessweek gave the book a favourable review, calling it "funny, sarcastic, full of expletives, and most of all outrageously honest.
"[6] Marcia Kaye from the Toronto Star also gave a favorable review, concluding the book was "provocative and controversial, and I wouldn't be the least surprised to see Tirado, in her thrift store sweater and ill-fitting jeans, running for office one day soon.
"[7] Shortly after Tirado's Killer Martinis post, an article in the Houston Press argued she had had a comfortable life, working in politics since 2004.
[8] Tirado had disclosed this background herself on a GoFundMe page she was running; while she described her essay as "impressionistic" she made public records showing that for several years she and her family had received Medicaid,[9] welfare and WIC.