Reviewer: Myra S.
We all know exactly what to think when it comes to judging Bernie Madoff; and I would like to think we’d be right in our judgments. What I didn’t expect to discover about myself after reading The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff (yes, that “Madoff”) Mack is that I also harbored negative sentiments about anyone who worked with, invested with, and is related to Mr. Madoff. In hindsight, I am embarrassed to say that I did. I suppose I figured that anyone who invested with him must have forgone due diligence, and that anyone who associated with, or was related to him, must be a slimeball by association.
I had downloaded The End of Normal with the same voyeuristic mindset that would lead me to pick up a People magazine or a mindless novel. I wanted to be entertained and validated (translation: make myself feel superior for not having been involved with Bernie).
I also thought that I might gain some insights into Bernie and the personality traits that allowed him to practice such skilled deceit with seemingly no conscience. The author, Stephanie Madoff Mack, was the second wife of Bernie’s older son, Mark, who died of suicide. I read the book this summer, a couple of months before Bernie’s younger son, Andrew, died of lymphoma.
Bernie’s Ponzi scheme was front page news, and as a reader, I loved it. I devoured the Madoff saga with gusto, and just knew that his sons, who worked for Bernie in the same building, had to be scum ducklings who learned from the world’s most accomplished scammer. Right?
Not quite.
I now wonder why I wasn’t more discerning when reading the disclosures in the press. Mack’s perspective in The End of Normal opened my eyes, and I hope to never forget the lesson I learned. The media and reporters all have their agenda, including selling subscriptions. I admit I fell into their trap, and I’m afraid I wasn’t in the minority.
After reading Mack’s version of the story, I must admit that I feel differently. While I now believe the sons were not involved in Madoff’s unlawful, immoral shenanigans (and the prosecutors apparently agreed, as they never brought charges), I do feel that the media’s coverage of the sons’ families amounted to immoral shenanigans. Illegal? No, but immoral nonetheless.
Yes, Bernie destroyed the family’s good name, but it was the media that destroyed his innocent relatives’ lives.
At the time of Mark’s death (two years after the Ponzi news broke), Stephanie had a toddler and was weeks away from expecting their second child. The past two years had been hell for their little family. That period of time should have been devoted to healing, recovering, and regrouping. Instead, the focus of their life was to avoid and/or try to mitigate the media. Phones were tapped; curtains were drawn; friends lost her number; hidden building exits were found; job applications were lost – this was Mack’s new normal.
Mack’s was a love story that ended in a tragedy as painful as any Italian opera. Nonetheless, her tone and perspective in the book are not of resentment or anger, but rather of hope and appreciation. She expresses gratitude for those who continued their support and love of her during what I sincerely hope will turn out to be the most difficult period of her life.
In the end it can be said that the list of victims of Bernie’s malfeasance is not limited to those who entrusted him with their investments.