The book "Lost and Found: One Woman's Story of Losing Her Money and Finding Her Life," caught my attention for a very selfish reason: "Ah," I thought, "Here is someone worse off then me!" Geneen and her husband Matt had it all and then in one fell swoop, lost it all to Bernie Madoff. Here was a story of how one woman fought her way back financially, much like divorced woman such as myself, find ourselves having to do.
I found her writing to be very real and conversational. She shares a lot of Buddhism perspectives which really got me thinking, particularly: "The sun still shines and you will still drink your coffee and the birds still call in the morning...You can find out that what you came to this planet for is not necessarily your apartment," as I am facing my own crisis having to leave the home that I love and join the other divorcees in condo living. Okay, so there are worse things.
Roth's story of shopping for eyeglasses in Manhattan will strike a cord with many, I know I see myself doing the same dance with my yearly mammogram panic and she explains where all that anxiety comes from. After years and years and therapy, I found some answers right here in this book.
On a down note, if you are looking for financial advice on how to get back on your feet after a major set back, look somewhere else. This book explores your RELATIONSHIP with money and with food. She shares with us, "For as long as I can remember, I treated money the same way I treated food: as if it were stolen." She continues the comparisons all through the book, to the point where I wanted to say, "Okay, we get it. You binge eat and you hold
retreats. Now how do I find financial security?""
If you are looking for inner peace and an answer to why you do the things you do this is the book for you. If you are looking for answers on how to rebuild your portfolio... stick with Suze Orman.
Please see more on this book at: http://www.blogher.com/bookclub/now-reading-lost-and-found
This is a paid blogher book review, however the opinions expressed are strictly my own. Strictly.
