Falling Apart and Other Gifts from the Universe

FALLING APART AND OTHER GIFTS FROM THE UNIVERSE by New York Times best-selling author Catherine Ryan Hyde offers a story of found family. It centers on Addie, a former soldier and law enforcement official who has been sober for close to eight years but still struggles with finding a purpose in her life. That changes when (while working as a night security guard) she meets Jonathan, a young homeless man who is squatting at an abandoned warehouse. This is a powerful book with both Addie and Jonathan dealing with trauma and eventually finding solace in the grandmother-grandson type relationship they form. As their journeys progress, Hyde forces her readers to consider their own prejudices, especially regarding addicts, mental health, and the unhoused. A couple of key insights: “Resistance is always a red flag. When you resist going somewhere, you know it's a place you need to go.” And “You can waste your whole damn life sitting in your room waiting to feel like you can do better. But the actions change the feelings, not the other way around.”

My Mother's Money by Beth Pinsker

MY MOTHER'S MONEY by Beth Pinsker offers “A Guide to Financial Caregiving” based on her own experiences as described recently in articles in The Wall Street Journal and on the AARP website. Pinsker, a Certified Financial Planner and a financial-planning columnist at Marketwatch, does offer insights as to required actions, but I thought that she could have done a better job of presenting this in an actionable format. For example, her comments about probate did not correspond to the experiences of which I am aware, and it is difficult as a reader to determine the next best steps. Another example is the section where she wrote about having a joint checking or savings account and went back and forth on whether it was a good idea or not. She is correct that local banks and financial institutions will have what seem like less than commonsense rules, but in general, I found her tone and multiple examples to be more anxiety producing than helpful.  One point about which she is absolutely correct is that that children/caregivers MUST be prepared to fight Medicare and insurance REPEATEDLY for the healthcare to which their elderly relative is entitled. There is a need for this type of information and, hopefully, MY MOTHER'S MONEY will serve as a starting point for many family discussions. However, each situation is so unique, that this book’s serving as a useful guide is not really a realistic goal. At a minimum, I wish that she had set out a plan for people in different financial tiers; clearly some can afford to consult professionals, but what about those who cannot? Notes and references represent slightly less than ten percent of the book and there is a Resource Guide (also about 10 percent) which is somewhat more structured and could be a useful workbook with relevant links, although even Pinsker says, that it “will not encompass everything you might need, especially if you encounter special circumstances.” Related texts (some covering more narrow aspects like Senior Housing) include Successfully Navigating Your Parents Senior Years, When Your Aging Parent Needs Help, Eldercare 101, and The Complete Eldercare Planner.

Having It All by Corinne Low

HAVING IT ALL by Corinne Low, an associate professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School, is subtitled “What Data Tells Us About Women's Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours.” In her Introduction, Low says, “I reject the premise that the barrier preventing women from living optimally - or even just happily - is our failure to try hard enough to have it all or do it all.” She further states, “Women today face unsustainable demands on our time and efforts largely because economic forces have created an environment where gender roles have converged in the workplace and yet have not converged at home.” Low’s research seems to back up the idea that although men think they are carrying their weight, they really aren’t. So, how does one shift that paradigm without creating resentment or greater chaos in a relationship? Low seems to argue to take time for yourself and put yourself first which, of course, is difficult (perhaps totally unrealistic) to do as a parent. She encourages readers to delve into identifying their personal utility function and to explore ways (e.g., car-pooling) to free up more time. Low is a strident voice for women and her writing is research-based (approximately fifteen percent of the text is devoted to Notes); it’s just unclear how viable her action steps (e.g., levelling up vs. leaning in) really are. Family Action Network (FAN) recently hosted Dr. Low to speak about HAVING IT ALL. Learn more here:

The Black Family Who Built America

THE BLACK FAMILY WHO BUILT AMERICA is written by Cheryl McKissack Daniel, the award-winning president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack. Her family’s company is America’s oldest minority-owned construction firm and she shares the history of its development, founding, and works throughout the twentieth century until today. However, unlike Invisible Generals or The Warmth of Other Suns, THE BLACK FAMILY WHO BUILT AMERICA is written in a rather dense style, making it difficult to fully appreciate the many anecdotes about “projects like the Morris Memorial Building, Capers C.M.E. Church, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.”

Cheryl McKissack Daniel strives to be inspiring, noting, for example, “Without any hesitation, I said, ‘McKissack will do it!’ That became my motto. If I heard anything that needed to be done, I'd say, ‘we'll do it!’ It didn't matter whether we had any idea how to do it or not. I had a talented staff; I knew we could figure it out.” The multi-generation legacy is quite remarkable and readers can further appreciate the design talent described by Cheryl's twin in this video hosted by CNBC:

How to Retire by Christine Benz

HOW TO RETIRE by Christine Benz offers “20 lessons for a happy, successful, and wealthy retirement.” The text is overflowing with ideas and suggestions compiled by Benz who is the director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar. For each “lesson” topic (e.g. Lifestyle, Social Security, Spending Plan), she interviews an expert and then summarizes the discussion with her key takeaways and a list of related resources. The topics are varied and reflect the complexity of the retirement transition; experts do not always agree and there is a lot of “it depends,” but that makes sense give the range of personal situations. Other lessons focus on topics like Housing, Adaptability, Healthcare, Taxes, issues for Women, and creating an Estate Plan. And, Benz has developed a companion podcast hosted on the Morningstar site which certainly merits attention. There are so many books on this subject, of course, but Benz’ compilation has consistently been in the top ten of Amazon’s list of Best Sellers in Retirement Planning and was chosen as the first selection for the newly revived Color of Money Book Club coordinated by the Washington Post’s Michelle Singletary. Readers may also enjoy the monthly (or so) perspective on being retired written by Stephen and Karen Kreider Yoder. HOW TO RETIRE is an extremely useful resource both for those planning retirement and those just beginning that adventure. I took copious notes … and agree with the Foreword where Jonathan Clements writes, “There are no wrong choices here, except choosing not to choose and instead drifting through retirement, with scant thought to how you'll make the most of your time and how you'll ensure that you’re financially okay up until the end. … First, read the pages ahead with pen in hand … Second, view retirement not as a done deal, but as a long period of trial and error. … you're going to be making it up as you go -- and that's a big part of the fun.”

A Culture of Promise by Fee Stubblefield

A CULTURE OF PROMISE by Fee Stubblefield is subtitled “The True Story of a Small Company's Quest to Transform the Senior Living Industry.” Stubblefield, who has been involved in developing and managing senior living for close to two decades, repeatedly cites his Grandmother’s request to not be “put” in an old folks’ home as a motivating force. He notes that the wish (fairly common amongst a certain generation) is negative, fear-based and discriminatory. I liked that he provided some rationale for this concern by pointing to the history of senior living: the first, spanning roughly the 1960s to the early 1990s, is referred to as the Skilled Nursing Home period when the major emphasis was on safety. A second period focused on the “assisted living” concept and lasted roughly through the major disruption of COVID. Change is again necessary according to the author and the pandemic has provided an opportunity to further transform the industry. Describing his investment relationship with Harrison Street Real Estate, he writes at length about the concept of “limiters” and says, “my company was limited by the lack of understanding of the challenges our customers were going through, which created a lack of understanding as to how to meet their needs.” So true, especially his emphasis on the value of communication, and a key takeaway that “the employee experience defines the resident experience.” He offers charts that look at three dimensions labeled the customer, employees, and investors; then, he looks at three decision nodes: to move/join; to stay; and to thrive. Although Stubblefield references Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it could be fascinating to look even more deeply into applying psychological concepts to his arguments. Stubblefield promotes “high-quality care, support, and love designed for every budget” and I would be curious to learn more about how well the twenty or so properties he operates across at least three states achieve that lofty goal. Even he comments on the “cultural misunderstandings between capital and operations.” A CULTURE OF PROMISE is written with an inspirational tone and will hopefully prompt some discussion and even soul-searching in an industry that tends to be very opaque and fragmented (most regulation is by the states). I have recommended this title to the administrators I know in the field. They may also be interested in relevant websites Stubblefield mentions like the National Investment Center or other trade associations. I am curious to see what else (like Here be Dragons about urgent care clinics) Forbes Books is publishing concerning changes in the healthcare arena.

They Came for the Schools by Mike Hixenbaugh

It seems fitting to honor the 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision Brown v Board of Education (May 17, 1954) with a review of THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS by Mike Hixenbaugh in which he writes about “One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms.” Hixenbaugh’s credentials are impressive: senior investigative reporter for NBC News, named a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and won a Peabody Award for his reporting on the battle over race, gender, and sexuality in American classrooms. His debut is extremely well-written, if disturbing, as he skillfully details a history of school composition and curriculum restrictions in the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, a Dallas suburb. By requiring large lots for housing, Southlake had essentially screened for wealth and race so that “three decades after Brown, America’s schools had effectively resegregated, perhaps not explicitly based on race, but according to wealth, geography, and social status.” Moving forward in time, Hixenbaugh recounts how a 2018 viral video with a racial slur prompted district officials to take action to establish a diversity program and the resulting backlash. Much of this has been presented in Hixenbaugh’s podcast: Southlake, critiqued here in Texas Monthly. His book also describes situations in Virginia, Florida and other states; plus, he chronicles the impact of national politics (and neighborhood PACs) on local school board elections and actions. There is a section on book bans: “without fail, parents leading this new phase of school board activism reported that they were merely fighting to shield their children from graphic sexual content that violated their family’s values. But many parents and activists were conflating references to gender identity and sexual orientation with sex and pornography.” Hixenbaugh is unflinching in presenting tough situations and the blow to quality teaching and to student well-being. His research is evident (roughly fifteen percent of the text is devoted to notes and bibliographic references) and this book deserves a wide readership.

Other commentary on THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS:  The Washington Post review says, “This razor-sharp book is the masterful culmination of years of reportage.” And Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, remarking, “an extraordinarily detailed analysis of current conservative thought and political activity.” But the most succinct is from Booklist, “This is a frightening but all too real piece of reporting, and belongs in every library.”

City Limits by Megan Kimble

CITY LIMITS by Megan Kimble is an excellent exploration of “Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways.” Kimble, an investigative journalist and former executive editor at The Texas Observer, employs numerous relevant examples (e.g., I-35 in Austin, I-45 near Houston), and writes knowledgeably about this topic and its complexity.  One of her key points concerns the progress that was promised with highway development sixty or more years ago. Instead, she points to how neighborhoods were separated or demolished and how highways themselves paradoxically led to longer commutes and more and more traffic. One case study that Kimble profiles is replacing the Inner Loop in Rochester, New York; she writes about community organizations, more parks and promises of revitalization. The epilogue, too, is a hopeful one, full of comments about the foresight of those who led the development of the mixed-income, mixed-use area that until 1999 was Austin’s Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. Kimble herself lives there now on “a street full of elementary school teachers and hospital nurses and social workers.” She is unwavering in her quest to encourage readers and planners to envision a different future that is less car-centric with fewer highways. Extensive notes comprise over twenty percent of this text. CITY LIMITS received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.