Wellfleet Public Library

Author Talk: Susan Berger - “A Moral Compass”

Susan Berger was raised with the understanding that she would never have to work outside the home. Looking beautiful and keeping a nice house seemed to be the only requirements for her life. When her mother died when she was ten, her father's alcoholism raged. The decline of their circumstances was slow at first, then sudden. Growing up in a deteriorating factory town where some of her girlfriends became strippers to earn money, Berger observed the harsh realities of not being able to support oneself. The obstacles in life were overwhelming: her first boyfriend joined the mob; financial institutions were exclusively male-dominated; and as a consequence of being raised by an alcoholic father, Berger had a predilection for alcoholic men. She eventually ended up at Fidelity Investments, where she was the only financial professional without a college degree. Reminding readers of memoirs like J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elergy., Moral Compass is a heart wrenching story of triumph told with honesty and humor.

Susan Berger is a retired stock analyst. Her history working for Wall Street pioneer John Magee enabled her to succeed in finance by bringing technical analysis back to its roots at Fidelity Investments. Happily married, she lives on Cape Cod with her husband, John. The bucolic backdrop has inspired many happy reunions with family and friends.

Monday, June 24 @ 7:00 PM

Free