Private Equity

A young woman comes of age inside one of the world’s most secretive hedge funds in this powerful, urgent, and propulsive memoir about work, money, and self-discovery Carrie Sun was twenty-nine when she stepped inside the world of high finance. An immigrant from China who grew up in the Midwest and graduated from MIT, hers was a world of constant striving in hopes of one day achieving the American dream. After a grueling interview process, she lands a position at one of Wall Street’s most successful investment firms. Carrie begins her job eager to learn and do whatever it takes to impress her billionaire boss. But the deeper she ventures into this white, male-dominated, time-starved, luxury-laden world, the less she recognizes herself. It takes playing the game at the highest level, amidst the ultimate winners in our winner-take-all economy, for her to question her past that brought her to the top and, perhaps, find the courage to break free and leave it all behind. Coming in the midst of a global reckoning with burnout, when many—and perhaps especially women—are reevaluating their relationship to work, Carrie’s story illuminates the struggle for balance in a world of extremes. It is a universal tale of self-creation, crafted with heart from a dazzling new voice. Challenging us to account for some of our most deeply held beliefs about money, status, and identity, Carrie’s memoir is a stunning journey of personal transformation within an unjust system. Rich with insights and told with searing honesty, Private Equity is a book to behold, share, and reach for in times of inequity.