Learning the Market the Hard Way

I have written books about education, Florida, climate upheaval, social dysfunction, poetry, Dada, and assorted forms of absurdity. So perhaps it was inevitable that sooner or later I would write about Wall Street.

My new book, “Ready to Stop Losing: Lessons for New Investors Learning the Market the Hard Way,” grew out of my own experience entering the stock market and discovering that much of what makes investing difficult has surprisingly less to do with understanding numbers and, unsurprisingly, much more to do with understanding ourselves.

Now, I can be honest in saying that I am not a stock expert. I am not an analyst. I am not an economist. I do not own or manage a hedge fund. In fact, I wouldn’t even call what I offer in the book advice—certainly not financial advice—but rather an education based on my experience, as well as my interest in the lore and lure of this phenomenon we know as “Wall Street.”

Mostly, the book is about learning patience, taming impulse, and not feeling so stupid for losing money. Isn’t it always true that “experience,” particularly when it costs you money, has a way of getting your attention?