Making A Small Fortune: Surviving publishing, parenting, and porphyria

'This memoir's reward is insights shared by a man honest with himself and his strengths and limitations in a way that is compelling, actually quietly fascinating.' -- Jay Levin, Founder of LA Weekly newspaper


Having it all can leave you with nothing.

At the height of the Dot-com Boom on Wall St., Matthew Spaur used his earnings from the tech industry to remarry, become a stepparent to three boys, and start a weekly newspaper--all at the same time. Overnight, he became a self-employed working parent with a new business in a cutthroat market. He did this despite having never owned a business, worked on a newspaper, taken a journalism class, sold advertising, or been a parent.

Soon, the tech stock bubble burst, the 9/11 attacks exploded, and the country slid into recession and then war. Media outlets started receiving envelopes of anthrax in their mail. The internet revolution began to obliterate the newspaper industry. At home, his new wife and two of his step-sons developed life-threatening illnesses.

What do you do when your fortune goes from bad to worse?