Avoid “Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves” by Finding Your Voice

Growing up in a family with significant wealth or a family business can often feel like an exercise in silence. What should you ask? Whom should you ask? When? Is it ever right to talk about such things?

The Voice of the Rising Generation speaks directly to those who find themselves living in that silence, the so-called “next generation.” Great wealth or a family business can act like a “black hole,” sapping the dreams and aspirations of future generations who feel that they can never measure up to the fortune's founder. This book, written by a psychologist, an educator, and a wise counselor who single-handedly changed the landscape of family wealth, diagnoses with economy and precision the cause of entitlement and dependency. It is not too much money or too few chores. It is the failure of rising generations to individuate, that is, to pursue their dreams, develop their resilience, and find their voice.

Many books are addressed to parents and grandparents who worry about the effects of wealth on their descendants. Almost alone in the field, this book speaks directly to 20-, 30- and 40-somethings, encouraging them—literally, giving them courage—to meet the challenge of integrating wealth's power into their lives, rather than disappearing into the black hole. Readers will:

Come to understand the true causes of entitlement and dependency Identify the psychological characteristics of the rising generation and the challenges proper to its development Clarify their own dreams, work, and vocation Navigate personal relationships and communication within the context of wealth Recognize the special challenges faced when rising is delayed until mid-life.

If you are a young person who is starting your life's journey and wondering about the effects of parental gifts, trusts, or a family business, this book will offer you questions, reflections, and lessons-learned to help you find your own way. If you are a parent, grandparent, elder, or mentor, The Voice of the Rising Generation can serve the young people in your life as a gift more precious than gold.

Keith Whitaker