Local Author Shares Lessons About Individuality At Chatham High School

CHATHAM, NJ — Jamie Fiore Higgins, a local author of "Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs," spoke to Chatham High School AP Language students about the process of writing a memoir.

The presentation, which took place on Monday, Jan. 30, concentrated on the initial writing process and the importance of telling one's own story. Fiore Higgins was introduced to the class by her niece, Lily Boland, who is a senior in Ms. Christina Lesnewich’s AP Language class at Chatham High School.

Fiore Higgins, who released her book in August 2022, talked to students about how she initially began the process of writing her book, which she said began as a series of short vignettes focused on various aspects of her experiences as a woman on Wall Street.

When writing her book, Fiore Higgins explained how she combined these shorter vignettes to tell her story, which covers the eighteen years she spent working for Goldman Sachs.

During the presentation, a large focus was on inspiring the students to think about their own stories, emphasizing that everyone has an interesting story to tell. Fiore Higgins noted that there are probably other women who have had similar experiences to hers, but no one else was publishing this story. She urged them to remember that everyone has a story to share and to not let the thought that they may just be "regular people" deter them.

"We were honored to host Ms. Fiore Higgins and hear about both her writing process and her experience publishing a memoir," Lesnewich said. "It has been a few years since a nonfiction writer has visited Chatham High School; Ms. Fiore Higgins' empowering talk challenged students to consider their own stories and voices as worthy of written expression."

Fiore Higgins concluded her presentation by discussing the technical aspects of writing a book, such as how she found a publisher and how she promoted her book, which included an appearance on the NBC Today show.

The book "Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs" chronicles Fiore Higgins' time spent at the top of Goldman Sachs. The story, according to the book's description, is an explosive personal account by a top Wall Streeter and a revealing look at the industry. "Bully Market" is a crucial narrative of one woman's experience within a broken system that highlights the difficulty and need for change.