What makes for worth: Private Equity (Carrie Sun)

#PrivateEquity #NetGalley

Before reading Carrie Sun’s insightful memoir, I knew nothing much about Private Equity other than that it made some people very wealthy. The world of this book is not my world but I felt its intensity almost painfully as I turned the pages.

This is a book about privilege (the ability to make a very good living, to work with smart people, etc.) but also about the toll that working in an environment that may not be a good fit ultimately takes on a person. The question then is whether someone can walk away from the benefits for the sake of another (perhaps even better) existence.

Carrie Sun is the child of immigrants. She was raised to work hard, very hard indeed and to be successful. As her memoir opens, she is in a relationship with a man named Josh who is, himself, very successful. However, just as can happen in work, some things that Josh wants from Carrie may take her too far away from her values.

Carrie decides to apply for a job with a billionaire after a position is floated by a headhunter. She undergoes, for this one job, more interviews than I have had in my whole career. Carrie gets the position and readers follow along to share her experiences and decisions.

This book, at times, read like a novel though there were also some technical aspects to it, as when Sun describes what PE is. In some ways it is a cautionary tale. It is also, importantly, a story of discovering one’s self. I recommend that it be read by a wide readership including those who are considering, or feel stuck, in their career choices.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 13 February 2024