The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence [Hardcover]

Jessie H. O'Neill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

It is a peculialy American notion that money will guarantee happiness-in short,make all our dreams come true. O'Neill shows that the lessons to be learned from the lives of people who have amassed great wealth, have a far broader application. The Golden Ghetto is in fact inhabited by millions of Americans, rich and poor alike, who embrace and endlessly pursue the fantasy that more is better, while allowing all that is truly worthwhile - loving relationships, the selfless giving of oneself, and spiritual growth - to fall by the wayside.

The Golden Ghetto shows us how to right our own relationship with money, and offers insightful suggestions for repairing the psychological and cultural damage our misguided beliefs about money, power, and happiness have caused.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jessie O'Neill compassionately and provocatively addresses one of the most overlooked areas of human experience: how affluence affects our self-esteem and relationships. This book not only sheds light on the pain that can imprison us in the Golden Ghetto, it offers us the keys to a journey toward freedom. If you or your family have ever had more than a few dollars or possessions, please read The Golden Ghetto." -- Lee Jampolsky, Ph.D., and Gerald Jampolsky, M.D., authors of Listen to Me: A Book for Men and Women About Fathers and Sons

"Jessie O'Neill's story helps give voice to the pain and isolation that wealth can bring, as well as the opportunity for the personal and spiritual growth it can provide." -- Tian Dayton, Ph.D., Author of The Quiet Voice of the Soul and The Soul's Companion

The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology Of Affluence tells the extraordinary life of its author, clinical psychologist Jessie O'neill, as well as the stories of her clients, interviewees, and friends. The Golden Ghetto is also a wake-up call to millions of people who are struggling with "affluenza", a dysfunctional relationship with wealth and money, or the obsession with making it, from the granddaughter of Charles Erwin Wilson, former president of General Motors and Secretary of Defense under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Golden Ghetto addresses the problems and differences of the lives of those who are born into wealth with those of most Americans. The Golden Ghetto is engaging reading regardless of whether the reader was born with a silver spoon -- or a wooden one. Hazelden is one of the premier publishers of self-help books in the area of addiction emancipation. Send for their free catalog. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Jessie H. O'Neill is a prominent Psychotherapist and Certified Experiential Therapist in private practice in Milwaukee, WI. O'Neill is Founder and Director of The Affluenza Project and co-founder and partner in the full psychiatric service of Acacia Clinic of Milwaukee. She is a nationally recognized authority on the treatment of affluenza which she defines as: a dysfunctional or harmful relationship with money/wealth, or its pursuit.

O'Neill is the granddaughter of Charles Erwin Wilson, past President of General Motors and Secretary of Defense under Dwight D. Eisenhower. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and earned a Masters degree in psychology and counseling from Goddard College in Vermont. She is a member of the American Society of Experiential Therapists and the American Psychological Association.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Hazelden (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568381190
• ISBN-13: 978-1568381190
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Challenges stereotypes..., August 6, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence (Hardcover)

I know what you're thinking... People who inherit money should just shut up and be thankful. But the author of the "Golden Ghetto" acknowledges what almost no other American is brave or smart enought to admit: inheriting a fortune often brings with it some negative side-effects.

O'Neill brings to light the fact that money can isolate people, especially children, from their peers; can magnify problems that already exist within a family; can provide the means to keep problems of addiction "hush hush" and therefore lessen the likelihood of treatment. She does not diminish the fact that wealth brings priviledge and power, but demonstrates that happiness is not as inextricably linked to money as our culture would wish us to believe.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Economic Stress Could Cause "Affluenza" Epidemic!, December 8, 1997

By 

T. Veale (WI - USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence (Hardcover)

Her unique perspective on the "American Dream" makes this book unusually insightful. If we feel uncomfortable with another person's wealth, think how we make them feel!

Ms. O'Neill takes a close look at the personality of workaholics and other compulsive behaviors and how they affect spouses, offspring, and coworkers. She then examines how the "success" of the workaholic often misleads others to think that money solves all problems and brings happiness.

You will be surprised by your own thoughts regarding the wealthy and their descendents. I hope you will be equally surprised by the envy, hate and manipulation by those who choose to get close to wealthy people. The problems related to wealth she names "Affluenza". Once you understand it, you'll begin to see signs of it in many unexpected places. "Affluenza" affects rich, middle class and poor, each in its own way.

This is one of two books on psychology that I recommend the investor read. It is important to know that much of investors' success is related to understanding the market's psychology. This includes understanding the individual participants' minds as well.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening book..., April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence (Hardcover)

The author describes the debilitating impact that 'unearned' inherited wealth has had on both her own and interviewees lives in terms that have opened my eyes about how a similar set of circumstances has confused and depressed me. I have been trying to find ideas for therapy to deal with chronic depression and this book addresses my situation more directly than any I have come across. She points out that inheritors of sudden wealth have a significant challenge in developing and maintaining strong senses of self-worth, self-respect and self-confidence, especially when the wealth is handed over at an age before the young adult has proved that he or she can 'make it on their own'. While reading the book, I gained a lot by answering some of the most pertinent questions listed in the Appendix, which enabled me to create a mini-autobiography and assessment of my own relationship to money and the roles it has played in my life to date. This book, together with practical exercises in "Undoing Depression", by Richard O'Connor, have helped me more than several different therapists in my effort to make sense of how money has impacted my life in a 'not always helpful' way. Thank you , Ms. O'Neill.