Local Author Comes Full Circle to Goodnow Library

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was submitted to Sudbury Patch.)

"I was so excited to get my first library card, and then later to work at the ," says alumni Carol Pepper, "and I am even more thrilled to come back and read from my new book as an author." 

On May 10, Pepper will be speaking at the library on her new book, just released by St. Martin's Press entitled The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom: A Woman's Guide to Enjoying Wealth and Power. Pepper co-wrote the book with top journalist Camilla Webster, and the book has received positive reviews in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post and from Economist Nouriel Roubini and entrepreneur Liz Lange. 

Pepper is thrilled with the attention the publication is getting. The book's website is www.thesevenpearls.com. 

She credits the strong public school system in Sudbury with giving her a head start in her writing career. She graduated from L-S in 1980. 

"I was so lucky to grow up in Sudbury and to attend Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School," she says. "The teachers there were very special. Paul Mitchell's wonderful Russian History lessons and Library, studying the Existentialists with Thomas Pulchalsky, learning Shakespeare with Sue Winter, and Donald Gould's history lessons all emphasized the importance of writing. When I arrived at Bryn Mawr College, I found the English classes much easier than writing essays at L-S." 

She loved working in the library after school. 

"I had a great time shelving books at the library. I got exposed to so many different topics just browsing through the books I put away," she says. "I loved organizing the magazine room above the rotunda — in those days, there was no Internet, so students would do research by requesting actual magazine copies to read articles.

"I remember a heart-stopping conversation I had with Mr. Pulchalsky. We were writing original stories in English class, and I asked him if he thought I could become a writer. He paused, and then said that he thought I had talent and could succeed if I kept working at it- high praise from him, for those who remember. I valued his opinion tremendously and his encouragement has stayed with me ever since that day."

Since leaving Sudbury, Pepper graduated cum laude from Bryn Mawr College and then received an MBA from Columbia Business School. She has worked in high net worth money management for her entire career. Pepper worked at JP Morgan private bank, and later managed over $1 billion at Rockefeller & Co, the family office founded by the Rockefeller family. She started her own business in 2001, Pepper International, www.pepperinternational.com. She advises families with over $100 million in net worth on all aspects of managing their wealth and creating a strong family legacy. 

She self-published her first novel, Beyond Blood, www.beyondblood, in 2009 with iUniverse. The book was nominated for an Indie Book award and was named an Editor's Choice. The story is a wealth management thriller, telling the tale of a billionaire with psychic powers who tries to control his children with money. 

Carol met top journalist Camilla Webster in 2010, when Webster interviewed her on camera for Fobes.com. Camilla has had a distinguished career in both television production and on-air journalism. She has written about billionaires for Forbes and twice represented Forbes at the famous World Economic Forum in Davos. Webster is now a tech entrepreneur as well and runs the hip blog, New York Natives, www.nynatives.com. The two later had lunch and realized they shared a strong interest in how women's financial lives were rapidly evolving and both understood this was an important moment in history for women and their money. 

"Women now have more financial freedom and opportunity than they have ever had in recorded history, at least in the United States, yet they are unsure how to maximize their current financial opportunities," Pepper says. "We realized there are seven key areas where finance impacts women's lives today: 

• wealth building
• romance
• motherhood
• power building
• crisis and loss
• retirement
• legacy planning. 

"We have created one pearl of wisdom for each of these areas along with practical action steps women can take right now to succeed.  Women's lives are very different today. We may remarry at 70, start a business at 39, like I did, or start our first foundation in our 20s. Being a mom and raising kids to manage money well and to enjoy a prosperous life is high on the list of goals in this new age of opportunities."

Pepper is looking forward to speaking at the library on May 10 and to sharing what she's learned by working with the Rockefeller family on the best way to raise prosperous children. The secrets to handling a talented child's sports or modeling career will also be revealed.