We Need To Talk: A Memoir About Wealth: A Memoir about Wealth

by Jennifer Risher

When Jennifer Risher joined Microsoft in 1991, she met her husband, and with him became an extra-lucky beneficiary of the dot-com boom. By their early thirties, they had tens of millions of dollars. Today, there are millions of people like her. Jennifer's thought-provoking, personal story includes the voices of others in her demographic and explores the hidden impact of wealth on identity, relationships, and sense of place in the world. At a time when income inequality is a huge problem, our country's economic system is broken, and money is still a taboo subject even among those closest to us, this engaging, introspective memoir is essential reading: a catalyst for conversation that demystifies wealth and inspires us to connect.

• ISBN13: 9781939096463
• Publish Date: 14 September 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Xeno Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 280
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

*I received a free copy of We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth. This has in no way influenced my review which is honest and unbiased.*

I agree that it's important to talk about money. And to find a way to maybe balance the riches better than it is right now. I liked that there was talk about stock-options, and the feeling of not necessarily being deserving of all that money that appeared quite suddenly. It was interesting to see all the different questions Jennifer asked herself about the money. How to deal with being wealthy, what new 'rules' to play by, and how to understand that different part of the world better.

Also, showing readers that everybody has problems that money can't solve in any way is an important message in my opinion. I think it's easy to look at someone from the outside and think their lives are perfect. Because they have this or that, or because they're wealthy, or because they love their job. But perfect lives are just an illusion.

However, I found the writing to be simplistic, and a bit naïve in places. The way the time-line jumped between the past and the present, then even to the future was also confusing at times. I also didn't really like the tone of some of the chapters, nor the questions that were at the end of each chapter. They felt a little patronizing to me, which I'm sure was not the intention at all.

Overall, a good memoire, with interesting takes on work, gender roles, and wealth. And how to deal with it all.