High Cotton: Love and Death on Wall Street

The author was actually my English teacher when I was in the 7th grade and told our class about her book. She told me when I was older, I should read it and I’m glad to finally be getting the opportunity to do it. Sherri Daley is a woman who inspired me when I was thirteen to pursue writing, but she also would tell me and my fellow classmates about her life, and I found her to be a profoundly strong woman. Words cannot describe how happy I am to finally be able to read her book and delve deeper into her story. I promise to update this review once I’ve finished reading her book.

I purchased this book in a train station in Germany back in 1990. Not only did I pack this book around Europe (rather than sell it to a used bookstore or trade it away for something else) I have kept it through many moves across the country and around town. It is FANTASTIC and it inspired me to run my first marathon back in 1994 as well as the New York City marathon in 1995. I NEVER would have thought I could do it if it weren't for this book! I have tried and failed many times to find some way to contact Ms. Daley and/or find something else written by her. If anyone has any information, please forward it to me at [email protected]. The book is unflinchingly honest and it's less about Philip Hehmeyer than about Sherri Daley's late 20's and early 30's. It's a 'slice of life' that's incomparable to any other book I've ever read. Bravo Ms. Daley!

This book contains valuable lessons for young women and men. The characters are compelling and the story is memorable, but this book is really about the high price one pays for emotional dependency. Philip depended upon his career and his money. Philip was unable to escape his personal emptiness after the career disappeared and took the money with it. Sherri was nearly destroyed when Philip abruptly dropped her after a wild, brief romance. She was forced to learn the difference between love and dependency, and that no one else can fill the emptiness within. These mistakes are made by millions of people every day. Young people who read and reflect can spare themselves by learning from the mistakes of others.

Please don't pass this book by. It is a true story about Sherri, woman who falls in the love with Philip, the head of the powerful Cotton Exchange. Set in late 1970's/early 1980's Manhattan, High Cotton offers a wonderful romance that is overshadowed by Philip's workaholic/hard partying ways and his rollercoaster ride with Wall Street. It is beautifully written, often hiliarious and truly heartbreaking. In the end, Sherri emerges triumphant as a successful marathon runner and single mom. Yet, you sense that she has never forgotton Philip.

Enchantingly and honestly written in the first person by the woman who loved the man. An account of a cotton-futures trader on Wall Street in the 70's. A brilliant and haunted man rises and falls and brings down all who love him.