Money Changes Everything: Twenty-Two Writers Tackle the Last Taboo with Tales of Sudden Windfalls, Staggering Debts, and Other Surprising Turns of Fortune (Hardcover)

by Jenny Offill (Author), Elissa Schappell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Considering how freely many Americans talk about everything from sex to addiction, "why does such secrecy still surround the issue of money?" ask Offill and Schappell (coeditors of The Friend Who Got Away). It's a conundrum they say arises from a host of core ideas about what it means to live in America: an ostensibly meritocratic society, where "only the self-made man or woman represents the vaunted ideal." This collection of personal essays by 22 writers strives to open the pecuniary dialogue, illustrating the complexity of the issue through alternately touching, humorous and instructive examples. One writer worries over his newfound yuppiedom as he purchases an elderly neighbor's apartment. In another essay, the wife of a firefighter killed on 9/11 feels "overwhelmed by managing the money [she's] been given." In a third, a frugal young woman is forced to auction her family heirlooms to discharge her mother's financial debts. Artists cover their well-heeled tracks for fear of appearing inauthentic, up-and-comers spend too much to bed sophisticated women and, along the way, the reader learns that talking about money is actually just talking about life. Which isn't such a big deal, is it? (Jan.)
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Review
Praise for The Friend Who Got Away:

“Rife with the passion and pain, the sadness and glory and startling depths of women's friendships, this book will grab you and shake you and spit you out, awed and chastened. But not before you’ve read every word.” —Cathi Hanauer, editor of The Bitch in the House

“An intense, intelligent collection of first-person accounts by women who analyze and mourn friendships lost.” —Time Out New York

“These tales are truly heartwarming and heartbreaking. Which pretty much describes the too often fleeting nature of friendship.” —Daily Candy

“The Friend Who Got Away . . . reveals women to be thoughtful and kind, sometimes callous and neglectful, like all humans.” —New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (January 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038551669X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385516693
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #347,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This one will have you thinking about how money has affected YOUR life and is a FUN read! , March 4, 2007

By	K. Corn "reviewer" (Indianapolis,, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

FIrst off, this is NOT a how-to book on personal finance. If you want that, go find one of the tons of books on the subject. But this book could help you change your outlook on money and think about how your own life has been affected by it. Each essay in this book is a personal confession or revelation about how money or money problems (or obtaining a sudden windfall) greatly changed someone's life.
Let's face it- Discusing one's personal finances with friends, even family, can be as taboo as discussing sex - and so it is relief to find a book where that taboo is broken. I'm sure plenty of readers will relate to the dilemnas of twenty two writers who explore the various ways money has altered their lives, whether it was going into a deep depression during a debt crisis, living with guilt after inheriting money as a 9/11 widow, being open about money fights with one's spouse, why someone would take on a vow of poverty or the unique challenges of dating a heiress.
This book will make you think - and perhaps rethink- your attitude towards finances. After all, it's only money - or is it?

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful perspectives, March 18, 2007

By	Jules (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

I really liked this book. It's amazing how everyone views money differently! The essays kept my interest and I am recommending the book to others.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Money Does Change Everything, February 26, 2007

By	Helene Hirmes (Sarasota Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We get into more trouble when we don't communicate well with others. Money has always been such a taboo. It would probably solve so many problems if people could talk more openly about this subject. Money has too much power over us. Wouldn't be nice if we could value people more than money?