The Power of Half

One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back

3.3 based on 154 reviews.

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Product Description

It all started when 14-year old Hannah Salwen, idealistic but troubled by a growing sense of injustice in the world, had a eureka moment when a homeless man in her neighborhood was juxtaposed against a glistening Mercedes coupe. "You know, Dad," she said, pointing, "If "that" man had a less nice car, that man "there" could have a meal." This glaring disparity led the Salwen family of four, caught up like so many other Americans in this age of consumption and waste, to follow Hannah's urge to do something, to finally "just do something." And so they embarked on an incredible journey together from which there would be no turning back. They decided to sell their Atlanta mansion, downsize to a house half its size, and give half of their profits to a worthy charity. At first it was an outlandish scheme. "What, are you crazy? No way " Then it was a challenge. "We are TOTALLY doing this." Each week they met over dinner to discuss their plan. It would transport them across the globe and well out of their comfort zone. Along the way they would inspire so many others wrestling with the same questions: Do I give enough? How much is enough? How can I make an impact in the world? In the end the Salwens' journey would bring them closer as a family, as they discovered, together, that half could be so much more. Warm, funny, deeply moving and wholly uplifting, THE POWER OF HALF is the story of how one family slammed the door on the status quo and threw away the key.

Product Details

  • Media: Hardcover Book, 242 pages
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) (Feb. 28th, 2010)
  • ISBN-10: 0547248067
  • ISBN-13: 9780547248066
  • Dimensions: 5.54 x 7.68 x 0.84 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 0.65 lbs

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Customer Reviews

  • Book Rating 4 out of 5
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    by Paul from Manchester, CT | Jul 5, 2010

    This is the true story of one family’s decision to actually do their bit to make the world a little better.

    The Salwen’s live in suburban Atlanta, in a $1.5 million house, but they are veteran volunteers through the local Habitat for Humanity. One day, fourteen-year-old Hannah has a Eureka! moment. In the car with her father, she sees a shiny Mercedes car next to a homeless man. She realizes that if the Mercedes driver was driving a lesser car, the homeless man could have a meal. This leads to a decision by the family, not an easy decision, to downsize into a smaller house, and give half the proceeds to the poor.

    The first decision to be made was who they should help. There are many worthy charities and causes out there; the decision was made to focus on poverty in Africa. The next decision to be made was how they should help. Simply throwing money at the African continent will not help; in fact, it may just make things worse. The family was very methodical, researching a number of smaller charities, and meeting with representatives of their top 4 choices to hear their "sales pitch." The Salwen’s eventually decided to assist a couple of villages in the country of Ghana, traveling there to see the results of their generosity, up close and personal. The only problem in their whole plan was that their house went up for sale right in the middle of the housing crisis, so it was on the market for a very long time.

    Along the way, the Salwen’s learned, the hard way, that not everyone will "get it." Even friends and relatives interpreted their generosity as a comment on their lack of generosity (we’re better than you are). Perhaps a bit of discretion is not a bad idea.

    Obviously, not everyone can downsize into a smaller house, and donate half the proceeds to the poor. Find something you can do. It can be as simple as halving your TV or computer game time each week, and spending that extra time volunteering at a food bank or soup kitchen. This is an inspiring story of how one family gave back to others, and it will inspire others to do likewise.



  • Book Rating 1 out of 5
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    by Stephanie from Chicago, IL | May 29, 2010

    I think you get all you need to get out of this book by reading the summary on the inside if the book jacket.
    WIth a 15-year-old daughter as the instigator, a wealthy Atlanta family decides to sell their mansion and downgrade to a house half the size (at 3500 sq. ft. still twice the size of any place I ever lived) and donate half the selling price to charity. This ends up being an $800k pledge to The Hunger Project.

    Big surprise: they realize they don't miss the bigger house at all. 800k is a totally inconceivable amount of money to the vast majority of us, but to this family it doesn't end up being a sacrifice at all. This, I think, is the big disappointment in this book. Even though their house doesn't actually sell for two years (bad timing with the economy), the family is still left completely unscathed (other than having to temporarily dip into the kids' college fund -- which is paid back when the house sells). Their "sacrifice" isn't much of a sacrifice at all because it has no consequence for them. They have the luxury of making such a huge charitable donation and not even feeling it -- which I think makes them totally disconnected from the average person reading their book. I was not connected to the unrealistic/flawless family in the least.

    Overall, I found the book incredibly slow and cheesy. The whole book is them talking about what they want to do. And then when they end up doing it, it's very anticlimactic: they take a trip to Ghana to see what's going to be done with their money -- it's like someone visiting a wing at a University or Museum that was named after them because of a large donation they made.
    The only slightly redeeming part of the book was when at the end, the author addressed some of the criticisms that they received via internet posts. He stressed that the real reward of the whole process was how their family was strengthened as a unit and as individuals. I think that's wonderful. We should all be striving to strengthen our families, and doing that through service is great. The book itself: not so great.


     3 people found this review helpful


  • Book Rating 4 out of 5
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    by Claire from San Jose, CA | Apr 17, 2010

    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.



  • Book Rating 3 out of 5
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    by Mackenzie from Salem, OR | Apr 5, 2010

    This was a well written book that I flew through this weekend. I admire the family for what they tried to accomplish, and some of their research into charity approach and waste of money in Africa was shocking. I'm glad that they did not just "throw money" at the problem. I also think it's great that their project reinforced their relationships as a family.

    However, I wonder if their "New Normal" is still unrealistic for the average American. How many of us can sell a $2 million house and move into one half the size (and presumably cost)? Or take a 95 percent pay cut to become a teacher? Or live on no salary for a few years while starting a magazine company? Their sacrifice did not really feel like a sacrifice in the true sense. I am glad that they adjusted what they valued in life and got off the "keep up with the neighbors" treadmill. That's a value that I hold dear.

    But their preachiness bothered me. Yes, we can all do more with our time or money. And yes, they said that Americans give the most total aid to developing worlds (or something along those lines). But what about those of us trying to secure our futures? Trying to pay down college debt, or build up a savings to help cushion a layoff, or creating a nest egg so we can one day buy a house? We might not even be on the "keeping up" treadmill.

    What about Americans who are not taking care of themselves financially, who are racking up credit card debt, not saving for the future or investing in their 401k? Is it not better for them to readjust their life style down so that they are responsible for themselves, rather than giving that money away? What if one crisis forces them to become part of the system?



  • Book Rating 4 out of 5
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    by Karen from Brookline, MA | Mar 13, 2010

    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



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