{"product_id":"2940170053285","title":"The Draw: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003eA young boy's awakening to the conflict between innate gifts and social class is at the center of this searing memoir about the unforgiving sovereignty of money \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHoping to make a killing in New Jersey real estate, the author's father, Monroe Siegel, takes a draw from his employer against unearned commission. When the recession hits in the 1970s, Monroe finds himself owing a small fortune to his firm. He sinks toward divorce and bankruptcy, while Lola, Lee's mother, suffers a nervous breakdown that turns her into a different person. Shamed and enraged by his father's fate, Lee grows up wondering what society owes a person who has failed materially but preserved his humanity. \"Other men got rewarded for their cold-heartedness, and often for their dishonesty, while he, Monroe Siegel, who had never hurt anyone, had to groan and stumble through life. Did not kindness deserve an income?\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a teen, Lee tries to make a different life for himself. He goes to a private college in the Midwest, is forced to leave due to his father's bankruptcy, and returns to New Jersey to work a series of menial jobs. He enrolls at a state college and then drops out to seek a better existence abroad, only to return to the United States in debt and in despair. Suddenly, a promising new life opens to him. At a price. The Draw touches on fundamental questions: How do we balance our obligations to ourselves with our obligations to others? What do we owe society when its rules have a legal basis but not a moral one? Written with startling candor and psychological acuity, Lee Siegel's \u003ci\u003eThe Draw\u003c\/i\u003e is for anyone who has ever struggled with money, or who has tried to break through the barriers of family and class.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Recorded Books, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47098205798640,"sku":"2940170053285","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170053285_p0.jpg?v=1763700710","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170053285","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}