It all started when 14-year-old Hannah Salwen had a eureka moment. Seeing a homeless man in her neighborhood at the same instant she spotted a man driving a glistening Mercedes, she said, "Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal."
Until that day, the Salwens had been caught up like so many of us in the classic American dream—providing a good life for their children, accumulating more and more stuff, doing their part to help others but not really feeling it. So when Hannah was stopped in her tracks by this glaring disparity, her parents knew they had to act on her urge to do something.
As a family, they made the extraordinary decision to sell their Atlanta mansion, buy a house half its size, and give half of the sale price to a worthy charity. At first it seemed outlandish: What, are we crazy? Then it became a challenge: We are totally doing this. Their plan eventually took them across the globe and well out of their comfort zone. In the end they learned that they had the power to change a little corner of the world. And they found themselves changing too.
As Kevin Salwen says, "No one else is nuts enough to sell their house," but what his family discovered along the way will inspire countless others, no matter what their means or resources are. Warm, funny, and deeply moving, The Power of Half is the story of how one family grew closer as they discovered that half could be so much more.
Hannah, you rock! Ann Curry The Today Show
You feel lighter reading this book, as if the heavy weight of house and car and appliances, the need to collect these things to feel safe as a family, are lifted and replaced by something that makes much more sense. The Los Angeles Times
Mixing humor, inspiration and self-reflection, The Power of Half will give you a whole new perspective on your life. You can't help but recommit to the values you want to share with your children. And you'll be reminded that your kids have much to teach you, too. Jeffrey Zaslow coauthor of The Last Lecture
Hannah Salwen is a junior at the Atlanta Girls' School. She has been volunteering consistently since the fifth grade.
Kevin Salwen was a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal for more than 18 years. He serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity and works with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (February 10, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547248067
ISBN-13: 978-0547248066
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