The bag lady papers the priceless experience of losing it all : a true story

Summary: Throughout her life, Alexandra Penney's worst fear was becoming a bag lady. Even as she worked several jobs while raising a son as a single mother, wrote a multimillion-dollar bestselling advice book, and became editor in chief of "Self" magazine, she was haunted by the image of herself alone, bankrupt, and living on the street. She even went to therapy in an attempt to alleviate the nagging in her mind that told her that all she had worked for could crumble. And then, one day, that's exactly what happened. Alexandra Penny had taken a friend's advice and invested nearly everythign she had ever earned with Bernie Madoff. So one day she was successful and wealthy; the next she had almost nothing. Suddenly at an age when many Americans retire, Penny saw her worst nightmare coming true.