Passion v Arrogance

Margaret E.J. Broderick
Passion Power Press, Inc. (2005)
ISBN 0976259761
Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (1/06)

In the early nineties, the author and her partner, an award winning winemaker, had a dream, a passion if you will, to open a unique, female owned winery. They succeeded in their quest, going international with their own private label wine, until 2002. As the country dealt with the aftereffects of the dot-com economy crash and venture capital money sources dried up, they realized that they had no option but to close the business.

They carefully structured a plan which would allow them to fully satisfy all their creditors and even realize a small remuneration for themselves. Armed with this plan, they met with the bank holding their loan.....and the nightmare of their passion versus the bank's arrogance began.

This book follows them as they attempt to execute a dignified closing of their pride and joy while dealing with a life-threatening illness. You share their journey as they deal with arrogant, corrupt attorneys and bankers, enter the courtroom to go before an incompetent judge and watch their dream, literally, go down the drain.

The author takes great care to make a clear separation of facts and opinions, drawing heavily on e-mails, letters and trial transcripts to lay out all the facts in an unbiased manner.

I found myself unable to stop reading, getting up early in the morning to finish the book. I can only hope writing this book was a catharsis for the author. I shared her passion, her pain, her disgust, her hopes and her fears.

Finally, in the author's own words: "....this story was designed to be an education in passion versus arrogance, right versus wrong and even, at times, women versus men."

Truly a must read.

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