04/29/2026
I read this last weekend and loved as a reader, as a woman and as a financial professional.
Interestingly I do have a lot of avoidance and deferment when I speak to women or want to speak to them. They may say, ‘oh my spouse handles that.’
The message in this book is simple: stay aware, ask questions and have a general knowledge of what is going on with your financial picture. My goal is to be a resource and provide simple language to take away the complexity and create an understanding so there are no surprises down the line.
How well do you know your family’s finances?
It’s a question women are now asking each other—and themselves—as a memoir of money and divorce ripples through book clubs across the country.
The bestselling memoir has become a cautionary tale of financial naiveté. A Harvard-educated attorney and Vanderbilt heiress, Burden, 56, writes candidly about how she ceded control of her finances to her ex during their 20-year marriage, trusting him to act in her best interests. When he abruptly announces his desire to divorce, she is forced to pick up the pieces of her personal and financial life.
In book groups and online, women are sharing their own stories of romantic betrayal, and the financial fallout that often follows, in response to the book. Some are using the term “financial infidelity,” which refers to everything from hidden bank accounts to undisclosed depths of debt.
“At this point, everyone I know knows someone whose husband has gambled away all their money,” said political influencer Emily Amick, 41, whose book club feverishly discussed “Strangers.”
Samantha Perkins, 36, a TikTok creator who posts about her own experience with financial infidelity, said she found “Strangers” relatable “for anyone who’s been through any kind of relational betrayal.”
“He was line-iteming her credit card expenses,” she said, recalling Burden’s descriptions in the book. “And then she finds out he’s establishing a designer watch collection and obviously has this kind of secret life. I think a lot of women end up in this position.”
🔗 Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4vXXz47
