The Power of Half audiobook

the story of a family who sold their home, downsized and gave half the profit of the sale to The Hunger Project. while the family who authored this book had significantly more money than the vast majority of the rest of the world, the concept is still applicable to the lives of others - taking half of what you have - be it time spent watching TV, playing computer games, money spent on hobbies, etc..., and donating that to a cause(s) you feel are worthwhile. i really enjoyed reading about their journey, their struggles with feeling out of place in a society which generally promotes accumulation and upgrading, not the reverse. this book also provided excellent insights into which charities do good works, and which are just putting a bandaid on solutions, and why, despite the trillions of dollars that have been donated throughout the years to fight hunger in Africa, the situation is no less severe than it was 50 years ago. many suggestions are included throughout the book about ways to volunteer and donate, including ways for young children (http://www.learningtogive.org/)i also liked many of the quote scattered throughout the book:"He who does not live in some degree for others, hardly lives for himself." - Michel de Montaigne"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." - Kahlil Gibran"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." - Charles Kingsley"To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight." - e.e. cummings

I was very moved by this book, and found it successful in what it set out to do--explain a family's decision to sell their house and donate half to the Hunger Project. The tone was appropriate, not self-serving but honest. It's not the whole picture, one assumes, but no memoir of this sort ever is, and I found what was included--the description of decision points and attitudes to be open and sincere. I'm not surprised that many of the ratings for this book focus on the family's wealth, but most bypass the authors' own admission that they are very well-off financially and remain so in their reduced circumstances (they sold an enormous $2 million dollar home for a smaller, but still plentiful 3000 sq foot $1 million dollar one in Atlanta). The inclusions of the daughter's point-of-view on what projects other families can do together is helpful and her tone is also honest, very much that of a teenage girl who enjoys TV and texting but is focused on giving and taking stock of what she has and what others do not. I found the whole book to be inspiring and helpful in thinking about my own life choices, and I think anyone who reads it with an open mind rather than a judgmental opinion will find much to admire in its pages.

When Kevin's daughter Hannah challenged her (already philanthropic) family to do something really meaningful for the disadvantaged and needy- Kevin and Joan came back with a challenge of their own, "Do you care enough to sell your house, trade down and give away the difference?"Hannah's response kicks off the adventure that is relayed in this book. It is crisp non fiction writing displaying skills that Kevin honed at the Wall Street Journal interspersed with Hannah's thoughts about giving. This is a great book for people who want to reflect on philanthropy and what is possible for each of us. Kevin introduces us to his charming family and many provocative and compelling ideas. I would recommend this to community service classes, high school One Book programs, and families that want inspiration to share. Kevin is straight up- I paraphrase: No one is crazy enough to sell their house; this is the story of the process we went through to complete the project we chose. It is the process and the reflection that is so intriguing about this book.

Ok - so I saw this family on CBS Sunday morning, and immediately downloaded the book. Why? Because they are a seemingly "normal" (we'll come back to that) family who is doing something awesome.And the book lived up to its promise. The family went to Africa, did good, came home, and learned some wonderful life lessons. Similar to "Nickel and Dimed" - I wonder - is it really possible for ALL of us to do something like this? And, again, the answer is Yes and No. Most of us aren't blessed with the fantastic nest egg and consulting skills that this family had. But, the message is loud and clear, we can all do more with less. We live in excess. And most of us don't do much as a family unit. But this family is special - and for that I am extremely in awe of this story. They had a lot going in their favor, which you could argue ran counter to their goal. I'm so curious to see how the story turns out - what will Hannah and Joe turn out to be? And what does the family do next? Their entire effort was for one project - now what? I certainly hope they keep us posted

What happens to a family when one member has a “Eureka Moment” so bold and so loud that it causes the family to live up to its own definition? For the Salwen’s of Atlanta, GA, when the daughter connected the dots between “what I have” and “what is needed,” it caused them to sell their historic, 6500 square-foot, multi-million dollar home and strive to give half of the proceeds to a project that could cause a long-lasting change in a small part of the world. Kevin and Joan Salwen were successful professionals (he a journalist, she a consultant with Accenture at the onset of this adventure) raising their children, Hannah and Joseph, to be grateful for their affluence and to “give back” to their community by volunteering. As Kevin and Hannah sat at a congested intersection, Hannah noticed an individual asking for food on one side of their car and a Mercedes Coupe on the other. Hannah had a moment of connection, stating, “if they had a less nice car, he could eat.” Before she got home, “they” became “we” and the question was, “how can we be a family who DOES something (about the world’s problems) instead of a family who only talks about them?” The family eventually decided they would sell their landmark home, move into a smaller (by 3000 sq./ft.) house and using half of the proceeds from this sale in some endeavor that would effect a meaningful, positive change on an issue of the world. In researching the “where and how” of such a project, the Salwen’s were to learn much about actually helping others. They learned that over 2 Trillion dollars has been spent on “helping” projects in Africa in the last fifty year with little or no change to show for it. “Giving help” and most mission trips do far more harm than help. Lasting aid requires those who are being “helped” to have buy-in to the change instead of giving them handouts (which cause dependency and disenfranchises instead of empowers). Projects that have lasting affect are those which are long-term with meaningful commitment from the community to which they are enacted. After completing their research, the family selected to work in Ghana with The Hunger Project, a non-profit whose mission is to end world hunger by empowering “locals” to find solutions to their own issues and helping them to do so. The project would be to fund, for a five-year cycle, two (after receiving a matching grant, the two became four) “epicenters” in a cluster of villages that houses the community's programs for health, education, food security and economic development. By the book’s end, the project was just beginning so the outcome is still in development.There were several points of deep thought for me in reading this short, well-written “report.” There is mention of religion in the book, but only anecdotally, the actions taken by the Salwen’s were rooted in a deep ethic of community, i.e. they wanted to help because there was a need. Their tremendous gift, by the author’s admission, did not change their life-style, they are still affluent. They challenged, by the discoveries they made in their research, their readers to confront how they can address the needs they (the readers) have found in their world. This is a book worth reading – engaging writing, the end uncertain but a hint of how a family can make a difference.

The book "The Power of Half" is a very inspirational book. The book was written because a family wanted to share their family experience helping the world with more people than they already knew. This book was also written to show how a little family can do a lot. A quote from the book saying "... But this will be one heck of an adventure" completely explains the whole book. The whole family goes through this adventure which is sparked by a 14 year old who wants to get involved in the world more than just donating a couple of dollars to charity. This book has personally inspired me to get more involved with the world. It also opened up my eyes to realize what big of a difference a little family can make. This book would open up many more eyes to the problems of the world that can be fixed with just a little dedication. I would completely recommend this book! It was a great read in many ways.

Kevin Salwen was editor and reporter for the Wall Street Journal for 18 years (Washington Bureau in first Bush and Clinton Admin) in Atlanta Georgia $1.9 M, $6,500 sq. ft. house. The hunger project Ghana West Africa / hand cranked corn mill and school @ Abisu Number 1 village. No electricity. No running water. "Turn the good life into a life of good" "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not!" Dr. Suess The Lorax. The purpose of life is...above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all". Leo Rosten.Hannah Salwen, Kevin's daughter helped in the research for meaningful projects to consider. Enjoyed the journey the family made in finding a meaningful way to give away their money. Who could guess it woild be so hard?

It took a while to read but I think that’s mainly on me, I kept putting it down. Most of the reviews are angry that they didn’t do more, that they’re sacrifice wasn’t enough, why didn’t they do something in the US instead. For goodness sakes, not everyone can do everything. They did something. They did it as a family. They gave a large amount of money and you’re angry they didn’t give more? I don’t have a million dollars. Or even a hundred thousand. But I know that I can give more than what I do. And I have given more and thought intentionally because of this family’s story. That’s what matters.

Interesting story about a family's decision to truly make a difference in the world and help those less fortunate than themselves. The story takes the reader on their journey as they discover that "helping" someone is not about handing someone a meal, but instead, helping someone really means helping that person find the means to get that meal for himself. The story is told by former Wall Street Journal reporter and editor, Kevin Salwen with injected dialogue from his teenage daughter, Hannah.Truly a must read for anyone involved in mission works or those who really want to make a difference in addressing the world's problems.