First, apologies for the long delay in posting. I was on the West Coast for work this week, which put a damper on my blogging schedule. I am back, with no travel for the forseeable future, so hopefully the EDIWTB posts will be more frequent!
I am breaking with tradition today with a rare foray into non-fiction: Money Changes Everything: Twenty-two Writers Tackle the Last Taboo With Tales of Sudden Windfalls, Staggering Debts, and Other Surprising Turns of Fortune, edited by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell.
From More magazine: “Here, 22 brave essayists bare truths about themselves and money. From Park Avenue to Appalachia, from a jail in Illinois to a suburb in Pennsylvania, from childhood and well into later life, money (or the lack of it) shames, frightens, burdens, delights and divides people (even one grieving relative from another and, of course, husband and wife). Reading this book may relieve you of a secret embarassment or shine a light on some psychological barriers you want to take down.”
I am intrigued by this book because, as an adult in her 30s, I find that money has become an increasingly taboo subject among people I know. No one really talks about how much they have, how they spend it, how they make decisions about it, or whether they’re worried about it. The title says it all: money really is “the last taboo.” It seems people are more comfortable talking about sex, health, or family dysfunction than money. So a glimpse into how 22 people’s lives have been affected by money sounds pretty interesting to me.
Oddly, I can’t find any other reviews of this book, but here are two notes:
1) The editors have another book out that I have wanted to read called The Friend Who Got Away, a collection of essays about ruined friendships.
2) If you’re interested in topic of how money affects friendships, here is an article from May from The New York Times Sunday Styles section (subscription may be required) that shares its headline with the book’s title (but doesn’t mention the book).