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Blotnick makes no excuses and offers no defense for taking out millions of dollars in fraudulent federal loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he paints a clear picture of the desperation, pride, and drug abuse that culminated in a catastrophic mistake with compounding consequences. A traumatic childhood injury and devastating loss in his formative years resulted in Blotnick turning to drugs and alcohol very early in life as a coping mechanism. A college graduate with no discernible skills, Blotnick landed a job with a hedge fund where he learned discipline and patience and was introduced to the world of finance. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and worked as an analyst at Citadel. At age thirty, he had several million dollars in liquidity and launched his own equity hedge fund. But an unpredictable market response to the global pandemic and his escalating drug problem signaled the end of Blotnick’s string of good fortune.
Engaging and entertaining, this memoir is a self-deprecating “tragic and cautionary tale of total self-destruction.” Blotnick delivers a well-written, thought-provoking, and incredibly honest account of his fall from grace interspersed with funny anecdotes from his life. He emphasizes the danger of thinking, “It could never happen to me.” Using a sardonic writing style, the author conveys life lessons in loyalty, humility, and true friendship. The book gives readers a front-row seat to the all-consuming, toxic world of finance, which encourages sacrificing all in the relentless pursuit of money that will never bring true happiness. Throughout his account, Blotnick repeatedly asks himself the question at the forefront of everyone’s mind: Why? Why not just admit to his investors that he made a bad stock prediction and cut his losses? In answer, he shares this poignant truth: “Pride isn't the opposite of shame, it's the source.”
RECOMMENDED by the US Review