I was fortunate to run into my friend Pamela Foohey at a reception at the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting last week. I had known that the book on consumer bankruptcy she coauthored (with Robert Lawless and Deborah Thorne) had been released. But I had not yet read it. I was especially lucky to catch Pamela that night when she had a copy of the book with her. After a brief conversation, she was kind enough to offer it to me. I began reading it on the flight home. So far, it is an illuminating and fascinating read. 

The book I am referencing, Debt’s Grip, reports on the most recent iteration of the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. For those who may be unfamiliar with the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, it is a long-term (now over 40 years in duration), periodic review of consumer bankruptcies. This most recent study involves the reporting and analysis of eleven years of data assembled from bankruptcy case files and surveys of the related households. While some of the takeaways are unsurprising, the book’s documentation of the nature the filers, their cases, and the outcomes paints a compelling picture of the greater socioeconomic environment in which consumer bankruptcies have been taking place.

Debt’s Grip self-describes its contours and findings in a number of ways in the introduction. Two passages from the introduction really stuck with me.

• “The experiences of bankruptcy filers show how households collapse under the pressure of having to fend for themselves financially. Their bankruptcies collectively lay bare the structural reasons people continue to struggle. This book is the story of what happens to everyday people when risk remains privatized for decades while income inequality widens, told through the struggles of those who turned to the consumer bankruptcy system for help.” (p. 3)
• “In reality, people cannot ‘personal finance’ themselves out of skyrocketing rent, medical costs, and wage stagnation. Despite what they may hear about budgeting, many people are one illness, one job loss, or one unexpected pregnancy away from a financial tailspin. That financial tailspin, almost necessarily, will lead some people to file for bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy files will tell us the story of that tailspin.” (p. 7)

Compelling words.

Honestly, this book “had me at ‘hello.’” The subject matter is undeniably interesting, and not just for business lawyers. The text is well written–accessible and clear. I look forward to getting into all the details (even as, or maybe because, I am getting increasingly invested in a new semester).