The End of Normal Review & Giveaway

We realize how much harm Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, which cost investors millions of dollars and changed Wall Street forever, but we don't always think about how much it cost his own family, including the life of his own son, who took his own life, as the result of the endless public scrutiny and private humiliation he felt as the result. His widow, Stephanie Madoff Mack breaks the silence in her book The End of Normal: A Wife's Anguish, A Widow's New Life (Plume, June 2012).

Here is the synopsis of The End of Normal: A Wife's Anguish, A Widow's New Life from the back of the book:

When the news of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme broke, no one was more shocked than the member of his own family. Before then, Madoff's son Mark and daughter-in-law Stephanie had built an idyllic life. Yet, while Mark's thriving business was entirely separate from his father's now notorious fund, he and Stephanie found themselves in the eye of the storm--and grappling with their own sense of betrayal. Mark refused to see or speak to his parents, and on the second anniversary of his father's arrest, he hanged himself.  

Left to raise her children as a single mother, Stephanie tells the real story of her marriage to Mark, of being part of the Madoff family, and of life for two years following her father-in-law's arrest and incarceration. The End of Normal is a searing inside look at one of the most controversial stories of our time, and an extraordinary memoir of surviving personal tragedy amid public scandal.

The End of Normal evoked many feelings while I was reading it. I found it to be a fascinating read and forced me to look beyond the harm the scandal caused to investors, to the harm it caused within his own family and remember that they also paid the price, ultimately in Mark's case, which was an additional blow to his already struggling family. I think Stephanie wrote this book with raw honestly, even when it didn't show even herself in the best light. You could tell at various points the raw emotions she was feeling while writing this book and I felt her anger in her writing. I thought it was well written and easy to read and it will make you think.

Would you like to win a copy of The End of Normal?

 Giveaway ends Sunday, August 5th at 8pm CST

 Winner chosen by Random.org
Winner must check back on Monday after the giveaway to see if they are the winner.

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Thank you to Penguin Group for my samples used in this review, and for the winners prize.  Opinions are honest.  Review by Michelle.

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