This is an incredible memoir that I could not put down. It flips back and forth in time and covers her struggle with balancing her desire to be a writer with working in a chief-of-staff type role for a Hedge Fund owner (Boone, who by the way does not like it to be called a hedge fund). This gives us insight into what she has to deal with on the job - absolute perfection and being available 24/7. When she faces incredible burn-out and stress due to the workload (including the health manifestations of this), her boss basically says she should be taking 15 minute stress breaks and keeps giving her gift certificates to spas. Thankfully, she realizes with the help of a therapist that it is not a personal failing on her part for not being able to deal with this but rather its the job that is not right. This book would make a great cautionary tale for everyone who struggle in their jobs and blame themselves without looking at the conditions or context. The author also talks about her parents (who emigrated from China after having been "re-educated" during the revolution) and their high expectations of her on her career, her love life as well as to never express feelings. By the end you are rooting for her as she navigates her life and career and ultimately chooses her own destiny. A really great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

My feelings about this book are mixed. I loved the parts where the author wrote about her childhood, upbringing, family life, starting a work career and her social life. All the technical aspects of finance, hedge funds, etc., got a little tiring at times. I found the timeline was also somewhat confusing as well at times. Overall, I did enjoy the book for the most part.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Press for the ARC of this interesting book.

Book: Private Equity: A Memoir
Author: Carrie Sun
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Penguin Press, for sending me an ARC. I will admit that this one started very rough for me. I did not want to read about rich people talking about how hard their lives were. The further I got into it, the more I enjoyed Carrie’s voice and her story.

In this one, we follow Carrie, who is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She has just graduated from MIT and is making her way through the world of finance. She has a great job, a great boyfriend, and an amazing life. Yet, she is not happy and wants more. She ends her engagement, drops out of her MBA program, and starts a new job. It’s time for a change. The change turns out to be a good thing for her. She finds herself working at Carbon, a hedge fund. It turns out to be the right environment for her. Her boss is great, has high expectations, and the pace is what she wants. The new environment challenges her in ways that she wants. Her life becomes all about her job and she loves it. She sees that money can solve most of the world's problems. Until it all becomes too much and she starts to see cracks in her world. She longs for balance and realises that she will not get it at her job. She starts to see just how much she is missing out on and how little she is truly gaining.

This book does deal a lot with wealth and privilege. We get to see just how much the rich waste and at what cost they will go to make sure that they stay in power. We see thousands of dollars thrown away, expensive gifts given, and everything is flaunted. The more you have to spend on someone, the better you are. I feel like this is where the book missed the mark. Carrie is the daughter of Chinese immigrants, who have given up a lot. At the end of the book, she goes into the struggles that they faced when they first moved to the United States. She sees how much Boone wastes and references it, but doesn’t go into depth on it. This could have been a great talking point for the book. she could have examined cooperate waste and greed, looked at how people are starving, and talked about how people are losing money, and suffering. She could have referenced her parents. Yet, she did not. She does mention the middle class paying taxes, while Boone and his rich friends don’t. I just think that this was a missed opportunity that could have been explored a little bit more.

This is one of those books that does make you think. Carrie’s life revolves around work and it is expected. She is expected to drop everything for her boss, keep up with the demands, and give up her own time all for the sake of the company. She is on call even on her days off. Even if you do not work in finance, this is something that many people can relate to. COVID-19 has changed the workplace, whether we want to admit it or not. While some changes have been good, others have not. For example, I work in education. We are expected to do the same thing that Carrie does. We cannot get help and any help we get is many times, not always, underqualified to perform their job. Therefore, we are stuck picking up the slack. Now, Carrie’s bosses are not underqualified. They do not realize how much work they are putting on someone. If they do, they shower them with gifts and false promises to make up for it. (Again, this goes on in other fields.) She thinks that her boss cares for her and he probably does. Yet, he keeps wearing her out, even when she asks for help. He also seems shocked that she is burned out, can’t do it all, and wants out. He then tells her that it’s just pretty much the way things are and it will get better.

Not only that but she is trapped. There is no way for her and her fellow workers to better themselves. They are working themselves to death, but there are no gains. They have no hopes and no chance of moving up through the ranks. That is all held in the hands of a small group of people, who are greatly benefitting from them. They are sucking the lives out of their workers and they don’t care. Yet, if the workers make a mistake because they are too tired and doing the job of three people, it’s the worker's fault. When your workforce is spread too thin, mistakes happen and they can be costly. Showering people with gifts is not enough. People can only do so much. Sadly, though, this does not make the news. Many workers with university degrees do not get the same attention as people who work in positions that don’t require them. (There is nothing wrong with not going to university-let me just say that.) Yet, I think some people live under the assumption that people with university jobs have a better work-life, better wages, and more of a voice. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, we know that isn’t true. People with that mindset also need to read books like this. It will be very eye-opening for them.

There is a lot of information about finance and hedge funds. You can tell that Carrie is very passionate about it. Don’t let that be a turn-off for you. I found it interesting and I loved how Carrie is so invested in it. Plus, it’s a great way to maybe learn something new.

Overall, I did enjoy this title and I am glad that I got to read it.

This book comes out on February 13, 2024.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/X5UuRoKYqHo

I picked this Kindle version ARC up on NetGalley. Thank you.

When I was sent the book, I must have known it was an autobiography. But it was a while before I started the read. I couldn't believe the amount of financial information that showed up around 10% of the book. Remember, by now, I was thinking it was fiction. I couldn't imagine why a person would include all that information that seemed to go on and on. I almost gave up on it. The story was triggering because of my time working in a corporation. Even the friendliest becomes a monster, a vampire to its employees. So again, I nearly gave up.

But about halfway through, I was hooked. I wanted to know what Carrie would do to find her own life again.

The ending was wonderful. Let me just say she does finally find a way.

Now I want a more positive life written so I can enjoy her new life!

Thank you for letting me read this book!

This is a fascinating insider's look at the operations of a hedge fund run by one of the "good" billionaires. Sun skirts around and almost touches on the outrageous and unearned privilege she sees, while also reflecting on her tumultuous upbringing as the only child of extremely volatile, driven, and traumatized parents, who expect her to fulfill the dreams they hold for her and defer to them in all personal and professional decisions. (Luckily, she doesn't.)
I admire the way she pulls back the curtain on the inner operations and finds some more senior people (and of course IT) just phoning it in, while the assistants (nearly all young and female) are expected to sacrifice their whole beings to pave the way for their masters of the universe bosses. I wish she wrote a little more about what we can do to dismantle this system rather than only reflecting on how empty and draining she found even the most rewarding parts. I hope more and more people can walk away from the excesses of extreme wealth.

This thoughtful and beautifully written memoir offers an inside look to the world of finance - a space largely reserved for the most wealthy among us. Sun shares her experiences in this exclusive space in context of her identity as an immigrant, the privileges that she did and did not have access to, and how her time at a world class hedge fund has changed her outlook in various areas of her life. No doubt this memoir will serve not only as an insiders look to those of us standing far from Billionaire's Row, but also a point of recognition for those who currently or have previously worked in similar situations. As public conversations continue to grapple with the extreme disparities in wealth, experienced in particular in the United States, this book offers a unique perspective, and opportunities for thoughtful conversation.

This is a compelling story that reads with energy and excitement. Carrie Sun's memoir of joining a highly competitive hedge fund in New York City captures the highs and lows of her journey. She reveals an elite, prosperous, and competitive business environment in New York City that few have access or exposure to. The reader cannot help but be impressed by Sun's ambition, abilities, and achievements and concerned that her choices may not bring fulfillment. As a Chinese immigrant whose childhood is freighted with her parents' struggles and expectations, Sun is both attracted to and repelled by the rarified world of finance. The author's personal story is revealed over the course of the book. Eventually she leaves the hedge fund to chart a new course that is more aligned with her interests and values learning in the process how important it is to state her mind and define her boundaries. Readers at all ages can relate to that discovery process and draw valuable lessons from her experience.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: The author describes herself as having alexithymia--the inability to identify and recognize one's emotions: it's a word befitting a very bright, highly educated woman who struggled to find her way in her late twenties/early thirties. Sun wrote an evocative memoir about her time as a personal assistant to billionaire head of a hedge fund. She took the job, despite being over-qualified--to find some work/life balance and was subsumed. I'd thought the TV show "Billions" was hyperbole, but Sun describes a hedge fund world of huge wealth, inequities, misogyny, and pressure. She was interviewed by "Billions'" writers to verify the authenticity of the show. A first generation Chinese immigrant, she was driven to succeed. While other reviewers didn't appreciate her detailed descriptions of finance--I found she was able communicate complex topics clearly. The initial interview--14 interviews and the requirement that all of her references be available within the fund's time frame foreshadowed how demanding and ultimately demeaning the finance workplace would be. She had to break a date with someone important to make the interviews and never reconnected with this person--again foreshadowing the sacrifices. Her back story wasn't revealed until the final chapters, but they brought clarity to her behavior. Fascinating inside look at the world of very wealthy fund managers.

Boy, am I glad that Carrie Sun had the courage to leave finance and pursue her dream of writing as Private Equity was one of my favorite books of the year. Sun gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at top-tier Private Equity/Hedge Fund/Family Office, the personalities who are breathing that rarified air and the often-complicated working relationships in the high-stakes, high-reward industry For those insights alone the book would be well worth the read, but layer in the fascinating personal story of the author and what readers are treated to is a very nuanced story of the ultra-high expectations that were placed on Sun by her parents that translated to an intense drive to excel academically and also influenced her professional choices. Private Equity has a coming-of-age aspect to it as Sun struggled to set boundaries, how she reacted when they were tested and sometimes failed, and what it took for her to reach her breaking point. The fact that she came out on the other side and allowed the readers to go along with her on the journey is a privilege, indeed.

Carrie Sun's "Private Equity" is a memoir focused on her time working for the billionaire head of "Carbon," a private equity firm in Manhattan. Sun provides an inside glimpse of the daily happenings of a small but powerful private equity firm and what it is like to work for a billionaire. This job provided Sun with financial security and a bunch of awesome perks, but it was also slowly killing her. As an ambitious, smart, talented woman, it takes near physical and emotional unraveling for Sun to start to question if this is the right position for her, or really for anyone who wants sanity and some semblance of a balanced life. Intertwined in her descriptions of her daily life at Carbon are important pieces of Sun's outside life, from her emotionally distanced parents to a wealthy, yet overbearing, boyfriend. At the end, Sun reveals a disturbing event from her past that provides a lot of perspective, coupled with the other life details that she shares, that explains why she suffered the way she did in her role. This was an interesting book.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Carrie is excited to start a new job. With this new job, she encounters obstacles she never had before. This book gave us an insightful look at what your life is like working forca big company. A nice read.

Having a daughter who works in finance, I was very interested in Carrie Sun’s take on life as an assistant to the head of a hedge fund. Her anecdotes about the endless work and the crazy spending on trips and consumer goods were entertaining but not surprising. Much of her personal drive for success might be attributed to her strict upbringing by Chinese parents who immigrated from China. Some of her backstory was integrated into the present day flow of the book. I think the transitions into these could be smoother as their appearance, especially the final one regarding her college years, didn’t make sense as to their placement within the book. The author’s note helped me with understanding aspects of the book. At first I thought this should be moved to the front but after reflection its placement is probably fine. Overall this was an eye opening look into the world of hedge funds. It was poignant and engaging. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I did not want Private Equity to end. As I was reading the final pages, I thought, how can I part with Carrie Sun's life? This memoir was readable and oh-so-good. Carrie Sun pulls back the curtain on hedge funds.

I imagine a lot of people are like me in that they know hedge funds exist, but only vaguely know what it is they do. Private Equity is a behind-the-scenes look at the culture, leaders, decision-making and breakneck pace of hedge funds.

Carrie joined 'Carbon' as 'Boone's', the CEO, 'assistant' (I put that in quotes because her job is as demanding as any C-level leader, if not more so) after dropping out of MBA school. Don't take her attrition as a sign of short-sightedness, laziness, or lack of intelligence - Carrie is friggin' brilliant (that shines through in every sentence of this book) and is clear on her goals. She made it through MIT in 3 years with a double major and a minor, while high on drugs a good portion of the time.

Carrie's detail on her life as Boone's figurative backbone is so well-written, so visceral and so believable. As a reader, I could easily understand how Carrie continually persuaded herself that working at Carbon was the right thing to do. Boone's almost-sociopathic level of indulgence and kindness coupled with constant demands and no-holds-barred critique is reminiscent of abusive relationships. (Side note: Carrie also has those and there are trigger warnings for sexual assault and controlling behavior.)

Equally as fascinating as Carrie's workplace experience is her relationship with her parents. As a child, Carrie immigrated to the US from China with her parents. The culture Carrie describes in her household is just as foreign to me as the culture at Carbon. For example, when Carrie is dating a new boyfriend, her parents send her a letter, a missive really, begging her to leave him with a bunch of absolutely wild reasons why. I was blown away by Carrie's description of her relationship with her mother, the things her mother said, and the way Carrie continuously compartmentalized so that she could maintain the connection to her mother.

Overall, this is probably one of my favorite reads of 2023. Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to tell people about this one!

Favorite quotes:
"The best investors are masters of psychology: they buy up your mental real estate before you realize it's for sale."
"I hated those stilettos, but I was determined: I instructed my body to reclassify any pain as a necessary investment in myself, my future."

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of Private Equity in exchange for this review.

Carrie Sun recounts the story of her personal assistant job working for the head of a world-class hedge fund in this at once relatable and unbelievable memoir. Anyone who has ever felt overworked and under appreciated (is that all of us?) will find the broad strokes of this story familiar, though the specifics of the high-pressure and high-stakes intensity of Carrie’s position are surely unusual.

In the early months on the job, Carrie was focused on whether she could perform at the level demanded of her, always striving for more: more efficient, more effective, more intuitive. As time went on, however, she seemed to realize that the question should really be whether she should instead of whether she could.

This was an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone contemplating their career trajectory, or just curious about how the other half lives. Watching Carrie move through her process of self discovery can lead us all to better identify our own values and begin to assess how our work aligns with our ideals.

One of my favorite books of the year - I couldn't believe it was a true story! I was so caught up in the world of private equity - something I know nothing about. I'd love to know who the book is actually about!

It took Carrie Sun more than eight years to write her memoirs about her time as the assistant to the head of one of New York's major private equity/hedge funds. It is a a captivating read, filled with astute observations about that rarefied atmosphere of billionaires behaving badly, with only the actual names changed to protect their deeds.
Sun spent two years with the firm, which she calls Carbon, and says how the firm wanted to know everything about her but gave nothing up in return. "Asymmetric knowledge is power," she wrote. She confronts early on her thoughts about her values and says, " there are the values we say we have, and those we strive to have."
She writes of the opposing forces that were driving her new life at the equity firm:, "All my parents wanted was to give me a chance at a better life and yet everywhere I felt in chains. All I wanted was to make my parents proud and happy.."
Part of the conflict in the memoir is set up by Sun's extended educational journey through MIT, Stanford and other top-tier places. She seems to collect different majors as a hobby, perhaps an obsession for higher learning. Or something. But ultimately, she decides the writer's life is her ultimate goal -- not marriage to her every-present foil "Josh" who is set to inherit mega-millions from his family business. That isn't the life that she seeks, and her journey is laid out in this book is a fascinating read.

She survived and awakened to a different reality. An overachiever by nature and upbringing she eventually survived toxic work situations that hid behind the need to gain wealth for company and self. She also survived the kind of toxic personal relationship where the man felt that she should serve him as he felt that he/his work was of greater importance. The writing was a bit pedestrian and rarely cohesive, but her struggles after awakening to her true value is of great importance.
I requested and received an EARC from PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press/Penguin Press via NetGalley.

Thank you Penguin/Random House publishers,author,Carrie Sun’s nf memoir,Private Equity and NetGallery for the arc ebook. To be honest,I had lost interest in this book very close to the beginning. It was so steeped in explanations of the financial industry and how hedge funds worked that was way over my ability to understand or wish to understand it. I had decided not to read any further. For some reason,the large list of characters,both in and out of the financial office on the Upper East Side of NY,City fascinated me.I resumed reading after a couple of days and did skip over the parts that were over-the-top business related.Carrie Sun is a brilliant math/engineer who decided to change careers but continue working in the same toxic environment to cause an overachiever to experience health and mental issues referred to as “burnout”.I found interesting how Carrie’s background being raised with very high standards as an only child of intelligent Chinese immigrants would cause issues with her adult working standards.What Carrie went through with her boss,ex boyfriend and co-workers would cause most people to get ill. I am glad I did finish this book and did not have many negative feelings about it at the end.

This is a female version of the movie, “Wall Street” from 1987 which reminds readers of the scene when Michael Douglas said, “Greed is good.” Or, “The Wolf on Wall Street” when Leonardo DiCaprio stepped into the shocking gluttony of money at parties.

Carrie Sun turned her back on an engagement with her wealthy boyfriend, Josh. He asked her to be his full-time wife, making him the sole breadwinner. The idea that she would have a career in finance was beyond his comprehension. Clearly, they didn’t need the extra income as he was taking over his father’s very successful business. She was energetic, smart and competitive. She took off her engagement ring and stepped into a full-time job.

Some said she had the best job ever in one of the top hedge fund companies. Boone was the CEO and she was his highly-efficient assistant. Her talents were beyond being an assistant but that’s what she wanted to do. He needed someone to organize his world and she did just that. It was rather exhausting reading about how she was trying to be the perfect employee working around the clock.

Sure, he gave her gifts to keep her going — thousand dollar spa treatments, fitness sessions, vacations, clothes and and shopping sprees along with a big salary. In return, he asked her to speak faster, do faster and decide faster. She would organize family gatherings when a $1,000 custom cake would be tossed in the garbage when nobody ate it. It’s when the gold was in the palms of their hands with no worries.

Yet, she did worry about the middle class that was paying taxes while Boone and his friends escaped it. He had no idea what it was like for the hard workers in America. He, and his capitalist friends, Jared and Ivanka, were living in luxury while many suffered. He told her, “Greed is good because it makes things predictable.” How long could she keep up with his ongoing demands? Her nerves were exploding.

This reminded me so much of the movies about the billionaires and yet, this is a true story. Carrie is an American-Asian immigrant who once was living in poor surroundings until she graduated from the best universities and able to find the American dream. It’s a book that makes you think especially when Boone said, “Money can solve nearly everything.”

The first part explains a lot about her work with the hedge funds which may lose some readers who may feel like they picked up a book on how to invest money. Yet, it follows up with the psychology of what it was like for her to be in this position with some inspirational messages. One may wonder why she was so attracted to Josh and Boone — both with deep pockets. She explains much of it in the second half of the book. As someone who wanted to write, she did just that and I will look forward to reading whatever comes next.

My thanks to Penguin Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of February 13, 2024.

There are three job types at your company that you should always make an effort to have a good relationship with: IT, housekeeping and assistants. IT doesn’t really require an explanation-or it really shouldn’t. Housekeeping is not a fun job. But administrative/executive/personal assistant/secretaries are quite possibly one of the most important people in your office, and often they are not appreciated nearly enough for how they make everyone’s job easier, not just the person they report to. This is presented in an extreme example in Carrie Sun’s Private Equity. The book also explores the toxic atmosphere of working in an environment where the goal is to make more money for people that have more money than they know what to with, but still think they need more. Carrie herself doesn’t value it in the same way, giving the reader an outsider’s inside view to a world of wealth, privilege and presumptions. She spends much of the book talking about how great her boss is, but an objective reader will see this isn’t really the case. Boone doesn’t respect personal time and boundaries, objectifies Carrie in her appearance, and has no appreciation for the amount of work she does to streamline his ability to do his job. As someone who has done plenty of administrative work over the years the latter is not the slightest bit unusual-either because they’ve never had to do that type of job in the first place, or because they’re so far removed from doing it that they’ve forgotten the amount of work and coordination involved. In Carrie’s company presents are given in lieu of listening to what employees need to have to succeed and thrive in their roles. The smallest slip-up could be grounds for termination. There may be a few people that read this book that would be excited by the world Carrie lives in. The lack of boundaries and respect for employees’ life away from work was appalling to me. Boone’s (probably) oblivious criticisms of Carrie’s appearance and goals is embarrassing and disrespectful. For those who seek meaning in life this is a great wake-up call that money doesn’t eliminate problems; it just creates different ones. It’s all about what problems you want to have and the things you value in life. The book does periodically dive into the world of finance and hedge funds, and I will confess to zoning out some during these parts. Sun does a good job of relaying her experience in a way that asks the reader what they value in life and how they treat others around them without the gimmicky self-help feel of the books her boss values so much. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.