Our Sheltered Lives tells the stories of homeless men who temporarily inhabit a sheltered place, the Albuquerque Opportunity Center. Aided by the staff, some find permanent housing, some gain benefits from social services, and some return to the streets. A few die there. Told through the eyes of a volunteer, the book chronicles the lives of typical homeless men during a transitional time in their lives, a time that proved to be a transitional time for the author as well. Fred Bales, a professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, began volunteering at the Albuquerque Opportunity Center when he retired in 2005.