On a moving memoir of unhealthy workplace culture, burnout and self-discovery. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read the ARC. It’s a sobering read and I couldn’t put it down. ⁣
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Carrie Sun is a role model daughter that Chinese immigrants are proud to have. She excelled in school, graduated early from MIT and got an analyst job at Fidelity upon graduation. However, when she was 29, she quit her job and was trapped in an unhappy relationship, so when she had the opportunity to work as a sole assistant to a billionaire founder of one of the most prestigious funds in the world, she couldn’t say no. She manages not only his work life and she sees what money and excess can do. ⁣
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I found it particularly moving to see Carrie’s struggles with how her identity is so deeply associated with work, as well as how the lack of boundaries has affected her physical and mental health. I also found it interesting (and relatable) to read about how she brings in the relationships she has with her parents and how they have shaped her. I learnt that burnout is never only about your own individual actions, and sometimes it’s a systemic issue that is pervasive within a sector or an industry. ⁣
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Despite all of that, I’m glad she finally found her peace. ⁣
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“…I realized my fear of wasting my life had nothing to do with the waste itself, not the time or money or any sunk cost, not even the act of apostasy or the wrath of my parents, and everything to do with what would come after: a period of being lost. For the first time in my life I gave myself permission not to know the path.”⁣
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The book is out in the UK on 29 February. I’ll definitely buy my copy.

Thanks ever so much to @bloomsburypublishing for sharing this title with me on @netgalley!

Private Equity by Carrie Sun, published by @bloomsburypublishing.

I'm delighted to see this 'dysfunctional workplace' trend continue, though I will say this bordered on the sadistic at times and would've benefited from tighter editing. The middle section felt relentless and it meant this book took me way longer to finish than similar ones I've read, topic-wise. However, in a rare turn of events, the last third of the book really picked up for me and I raced towards the end once I (and the narrator) saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

We're all familiar with the premise: precocious graduate (though Carrie's already worked elsewhere at this point) gets headhunted to work at enviable, market-leading, creme de la creme company. It starts off promisingly enough, though quickly descends into an ocean of red flags (actually, there were already plenty of red flags before accepting the job, which made it very frustrating to read.) Carrie's boss is a Christian Grey walking stereotype and I kept thinking the story would derail off into a questionable workplace romance at every turn - alas, this never happens (phew) though he does make a handful of blatantly inappropriate comments towards her which once again leaves you thinking: why aren't you quitting? She's not trying to make ends meet and she could easily walk into a job anywhere else with her brilliant background.

Carrie's workload is ever-increasing, the pressure keeps building, and the job ultimately affects every aspect of her life. Eventually, she does quit, but not before we've endured pages upon pages of miserable workplace anecdotes, blissfully unaware bosses, and overly critical parents. And for what? We know she's not being paid millions, so it's truly baffling to see her stick at it for so long when alarm bells should've been ringing from the very beginning.

Whilst the ending is a huge relief, not least to Carrie, I think the journey felt a bit meandering at times. The narrative is peppered with very technical detours into the world of finance and investments which felt out of place. Snippets of her parents' lives back in China are also included and, whilst fascinating from a historical point of view, I'm not sure how much they added to her current story.

Ultimately, however, this provided a great glimpse into the world of high-stakes private equity firms, satiated my craving for batshit workplace politics, and is a testament to how much humans will endure for... very little.

4/5

I couldn't put this memoir down, despite knowing little about the world of hedge funds/private equity. It's a forensic peek behind the curtain that is clear-eyed and comes across as fair to most of the people depicted here, particularly Carrie's boss "Boone Prescott". Carrie's a great writer, bringing this world to life in an accessible way whilst never becoming too dry about the detail - I'm so happy to know she achieved her dream of becoming a professional writer, it's well deserved. Highly recommended and many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.