Anna Ott died in the Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane in 1893. She had enjoyed status and financial success first as a physician's wife and then as the only female doctor in Madison. Throughout her first marriage, attempts to divorce her abusive second husband, and twenty years of institutionalization, Ott determinedly shaped her own life. Kim E. Nielsen explores a life at once irregular and unexceptional. Historical and institutional structures, like her whiteness and laws that liberalized divorce and women's ability to control their property, opened up uncommon possibilities for Ott. Other structures, from domestic violence in the home to rampant sexism and ableism outside of it, remained a part of even affluent women's lives. Money, Marriage, and Madness tells a forgotten story of how the legal and medical cultures of the time shaped one woman—and what her life tells us about power and society in nineteenth century America.

"The vast literature on Virginia Woolf's life, work, and marriage falls into two groups. A large majority is certain that she was mentally ill, and a small minority is equally certain that she was not mentally ill but was misdiagnosed by psychiatrists. In this daring exploration of Woolf's life and work, Thomas Szasz--famed for his radical critique of psychiatric concepts, coercions, and excuses--examines the evidence and rejects both views. Instead, he looks at how Virginia Woolf, as well as her husband Leonard, used the concept of madness and the profession of psychiatry to manage and manipulate their own and each other's lives.Do we explain achievement when we attribute it to the fictitious entity we call ""genius""? Do we explain failure when we attribute it to the fictitious entity we call ""madness""? Or do we deceive ourselves the same way that the person deceives himself when he attributes the easy ignition of hydrogen to its being ""flammable""? Szasz interprets Virginia Woolf's life and work as expressions of her character, and her character as the ""product"" of her free will. He offers this view as a corrective against the prevailing, ostensibly scientific view that attributes both her ""madness"" and her ""genius"" to biological-genetic causes. We tend to attribute exceptional achievement to genius, and exceptional failure to madness. Both, says Szasz, are fictitious entities."

Sterling Braswell has two tickets to crazy town: one is his riveting personal account and the other is a thorough global history.Sterling Braswell was a millionaire—palatial ranch, stock options, and money in the bank. Then he met his high school sweetheart after not seeing her for over ten years. With their love rekindled, they were married. Life was beautiful. They had no real worries, a lovely son, and a bright future.Then she started using meth.The craziness of the next few years would leave Sterling almost completely broke—financially, emotionally, and spiritually—and nearly murdered.

The case of a wealthy North Carolina woman who, after leading a life of deceit, is finally brought to trial for murdering her husband.

When Heidi Evans's ninety-one-year-old aunt died, her sons were dumbstruck to discover a bankbook with a balance of $50,000 hidden in her top drawer. She had been a devoted housewife and mother all of her adult life -- so where had the money come from? But the women in the family just smiled. They knew. Like generations of women, Aunt Lee had been building a nest egg, stashing away a few dollars a week from her household allowance (and maybe sometimes from Uncle Irving's pockets) so that she could have a little money of her very own -- for a rainy day, for her kids, or just to pay for her dreams. Now Evans revives this age-old practice of stowing away money and shows women of all ages how a nest egg can make marriage more secure and more fun, and divorce or widowhood less devastating. This award-winning journalist shows us just how the nest egg works by introducing us to a fascinating variety of women whose marriages have been marked by the war over money. These intimate and revealing stories give us a clear view of the financial landscape within marriage today, from relationships in which men control the money -- and their wives -- to families in which women can openly save their own money for the years ahead. And so we meet Veronica, a hair colorist in her twenties who stashes $20 a day from her tips so she can pay for the little luxuries she and her new husband would like. And Meryl, whose husband left her for a younger woman after twenty-five years of marriage and who now finds that divorce has generated a desperate need for private savings. Later, we meet Irene, a seventy-seven-year-old for whom early widowhood might have meant poverty for her and her sons if she hadn't been so smart about creating a nest egg. The age-old tradition of the nest egg has become more important for women than ever. Indeed, financial security is the number-one problem facing women today, in and out of marriage. Women are still earning only 76 cents to every dollar earned by men and champing at the bit to have equal footing -- or at least the ability to buy that third pair of black pumps without an argument. What to do? Save a little for yourself...with the full knowledge of your husband (if you can) or on the sly (if you must). Whether you pick your husband's pockets or work like a dog for your own paycheck, money is marriage insurance, and it's nonnegotiable. So what are you waiting for?

Byron Tully, author of "The Old Money Book", reveals the secrets and strategies used by America's Upper Class that contribute to a vibrant, fulfilling, and enduring married life. From dating around to settling down, everything you need to know and every question you need to ask yourself--and your potential mate--is detailed here. "The Old Money Guide To Marriage" is a must-read for anyone, single or married, who really wants to Get It Right and Make It Last.