Madeline combines a heartfelt memoir with hard-earned financial knowledge in a way that is so raw and touching. I have been a fan of hers on TikTok for years now, and reading this book gave me good insight.

I love that now all of her tips and tricks she has learned is consolidated in one place to help out the fellow working class in financial stability.

It really helped me recognize my own issues with finances, that learned behavior from family members, and now I have some actionable tips to work towards a more calm future.

When I found out Madeline had a book coming out I got so excited. She managed to write a book about financial struggles and still make it entertaining and funny without losing the gravity of the situation.



Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

An intriguing blend of memoir and financial advice, but you actually want to read it!

Madeline Pendelton has such a way with words, at times it feels like reading a fiction book. I found myself rooting for the main character, waiting for her to overthrow the capitalist regime and implement sweeping political reforms to help change things for the better. Sadly, this is a memoir and so all the more heartbreaking when you fall back down to reality.

I still loved following along on Madeline's journey, learning how she managed to build her business whilst still taking care of her co-workers and friends. Very relatable and a far cry from finance bros with access to a microphone.

This is the first non-fiction book I've read in a while where I actually finish it in one sitting, so that has to count for something too! Plus it actually helped me to understand some financial terms and concepts I just hadn't been able to wrap my head around before.

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Quick review:

Funny and insightful rags-to-survival-not-quite-riches-yet memoir meets financial life advice. Truly a great read. It shows that not everyone is in it for themselves and you can actually make an impact if you start small.

This heartwarming, frustrating, enlightening and agonizing account of adulting is a must-read for anyone who is still trying to figure out how the world works. Part memoir and part personal finance primer, Madeline Pendleton details her highs and many lows of navigating the financial aspect of her teenage and young adult years. Now the founder of a successful alternative clothing company, Tunnel Vision, Pendleton shares how she arrived to the decision to create a compensation model where all employees are paid equally. There is no sugarcoating the challenges endured as a wage worker and later entrepreneur in the modern world of capitalism. This story will attract any reader who is seeking a more self-aware version of Sophia Amoruso's 2015 #Girlboss and those who appreciate the frank financial commentary of Tori Dunlap's 2022 Financial Feminist.

A very refreshing take on money. I liked how she didn’t shame people for their money struggles - she acknowledges that life happens and there are societal reasons for why people struggle financially. This book was mostly memoir and partially advice and I really liked that format. I highly recommend!

This book is intense right from the very first page! A homeless teen trying to get ahead, this book transforms tragic setbacks to catapult the determination to become better and achieve. The author is brutally honest and the tidbits are worth every highlight.

Combining memoir with advice, I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt was a delight. Through relatable experiences and her trademark no-bullshit way of talking, Madeline presented readers with an informative, sometimes funny, sometimes difficult read about the realities of living in America's capitalistic hellscape. Highly recommend, both for existing followers of hers and for new.

I really enjoyed this book! I was first introduced to Madeline through my short stint on TikTok a couple years ago, and was surprised to see that she wrote a book. I'll admit I was a bit nervous that another TikToker got a publishing deal, but I'm happy to say I was proved wrong. I loved the memoir chapters where Pendleton threads her life's narrative through the lens of capitalism. It felt human and real, you can tell that Pendleton is a smart and thoughtful person who's just trying to make it through this hellscape. I thought I would dislike the survival guide interludes more, but there was a lot of great information in there. My library already has this book on order and I've already put patrons on the holds list for it! As a fellow punk kid at heart, I'm excited to see what else Madeline gets up to in the future.

I remember following Madeline on TikTok a year or so ago. Really enjoyed her content! When I saw she had written a memoir I was excited all over again. Her opening story is hard to put in to words - it’s shocking and sad, but because it is so real and an everyday occurrence you are almost numb to that reality.

I appreciate her story, her insight and the work she does now. Her anti capitalist stance and work is so important and I think will be something many of us from my generation and younger will hopefully adopt and maybe change this country. Community and support is what we need and hearing her life and opinions is a live experience I think everyone should be exposed to.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt by Madeline Pendleton!