The Power of Half

A father and daughter write about their family's decision to sell their home, move into a smaller house, and put half of the proceeds toward helping a village in Ghana. Fred Sanders and Jen Taylor fit the roles of father and daughter well. Sanders conveys the right balance of altruism and doubt. He also comes up with dead-on voices for eager daughter Hannah and skeptical son Joseph during the family discussions of the project. With youthful exuberance Jen Taylor reads Hannah's advice on instilling charitable behavior in families. The Salwens' rare commitment to helping others, unshaken by the recent drop in home prices, will give listeners much to consider. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

February 11, 2010
In this well-meaning but self-congratulatory memoir, the Salwen family decides to sell their gorgeous Atlanta mansion, move to a home half the size, and commit half the proceeds to the needy. Putting their plan into action, a raft of family decisions and meetings are led by mom Joan, a former corporate consulting executive and teacher, with the help of an actual whiteboard. Entrepreneur and activist Kevin, a former Wall Street Journal editor, writes with daughter Hannah, who, as instigator of the family project, provides commentary and practical suggestions. The chronicle is intriguing and the cohesiveness of the four family members is remarkable: "Friends and others... always focused on... the big house, the big donation, or the trip to Africa" with their eventual partner, The Hunger Project, rather than "the transformational energy" of "a family eager to stand for something collectively." The authors tend to gush over their efforts while discounting the privileged position that allows them to make them ("we think everyone can give one of the three T's: time, talent or treasure"); their unflagging optimism, buttressed by clear self-regard, can also be tiring.