Maiysha talks with Wall Street giant and now critically acclaimed author Cin Fabré about her debut memoir “Wolf Hustle” which is about her time being one of the few Black women on Wall Street and how the industry is very cutthroat. They discuss Cin’s excitement for her book going Hollywood and becoming a feature film and what led to her leaving Wall Street.
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Maiysha Kai [00:00:05] Welcome back to another episode of Writing Black. I am your host, Maiysha Kai, and today we have an author with us who truly takes us on an incredible journey. And the most incredible part is it’s all true. Cin Fabré, author of Wolf Hustle, A Black Woman on Wall Street. sin, how are you doing?
Cin Fabré [00:00:26] Hey. I’m great. Thank you for having me.
Maiysha Kai [00:00:29] I’m so excited to have you. This is a really incredible memoir. Not like anything I expected.
Cin Fabré [00:00:36] Okay.
Maiysha Kai [00:00:37] Don’t ask me what I expected. But, you know, this is a book, you know, when you say a Black woman on Wall Street, I mean, definitely. And you bring this up in the book, you know, certain things come to mind. You know, you’re thinking of like, you know, the actual movie Wall Street or Wolf of Wall Street or in my case, Working Girl, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I just showed my age with that. But even there, you know, like you and I are around the same age and view, this is a very New York story. This is a very it’s a story about the American dream. It’s a story about a lot of things.
Excerpt from “Wolf Hustle” [00:01:18] As is often the case, history and pop culture, for that matter, has gravely overlooked the voices of those who don’t check certain boxes. Nobody knows that part of the story in which a daughter of Haitian immigrants, who grew up in the Bronx projects, broke into Wall Street to become one of its youngest Black female stockbrokers, lending clients worth hundreds of millions. And frankly, that part of the story is much more interesting.
Maiysha Kai [00:01:42] And I have to say, I just admire, like from a writing standpoint, how deftly you moved between all of those aspects of your story. How did this project come about?
Cin Fabré [00:01:53] Thank you. You know, I think over the years we’ve seen so many movies and everything on it seems the screen or whatever we’re watching is kind of written from the same narratives. And it’s always about, you know, men. And what I wanted to do was just kind of tell my story about the time I was on Wall Street, which was a quarter of a century ago. I can’t believe I could say that. But I think because I have a 19 year old daughter as well, and she’s trying to navigate the world and there’s so much that’s happened, you know, prior to her graduating with COVID and just social media. And what I wanted to show my kids was there’s so much more to just social media. I love it, obviously, but if you put your head down, you can still figure things out. And so I wanted to kind of take it back and I hope that, you know, the story is able to kind of inspire people and let them know even with the toughest adversity, and obviously, they are a lot more tougher stories than mine, but my point of view and the way I told the story was it was hard for me, but I found a way. And so that’s all I really wanted to do, was just share that message.
Maiysha Kai [00:02:58] Well, you know, I was definitely inspired. And again, you know, the while one of the wildest things to me about this is so you’re telling this story that a lot of it’s centers in the mid-nineties, like, you know, you were 19 and heading to Wall Street. I was 20 and up in Westchester going to college. And I’m like, wow, we were having total like, you know, parallel, but totally different. Like, I recognize this in New York you were talking about. I knew it well. And I was like, oh, my God, this is crazy. Seeing, like, you know, seeing it from this entirely different perspective. And, you know, you are a child of Haitian immigrants. That was really, you know, that telling of your that part of the telling of your story, I thought was really intriguing in terms of both having this profound cultural influence. But you said you were only taken there once as a child. But the way that it made each of your parents approach their American experience, which seems like they were in different ways, but it felt like that was where the hustle came from in your in your title. How was that kind of excavating that story?
Cin Fabré [00:04:05] Yeah. You know, that wasn’t something that was very easy for my mom to even share anything. And I kind of relay that in the book, getting stories from my family. And I think a lot of it felt like shame. Though my family had so much pride for who they were as people and how they, you know, they navigated the world. There was no shame and, you know, and maybe they thought that there would be some type of stereotype in the way they were raised. And so I had to, you know, have those conversations. And I tried as best as I could to get those stories from my family and my mom while I was growing up. And I remember that because, you know, when someone’s giving you so little information, you hold on to it. Whereas somebody is giving you so much, you can only retain certain parts. And because she only shared so little with me, everything she gave me, I held on to and I remembered the things that she said to me because I you know, I think I wrote some in the book. I listen, when you were speaking, you know, even though she says I wasn’t, but I took anything she told me because I had so much respect for her to just kind of build myself up and how I wanted to kind of go through life.
Excerpt from “Wolf Hustle” [00:05:06] My mother was born in a small town in the northeastern part of Haiti before her parents moved the family to a farm on the good side of Port au Prince. Good, meaning wealthier here. The second oldest of eight children, mommy rarely spoke about her siblings or her parents or her life before New York. So what I know of her childhood and early adulthood is pieced together from the brief reminiscences that I could pry from her.
Maiysha Kai [00:05:32] And, you know, you were very I don’t know if humble was the word you you know, you were just saying you were like, well, you know, my stories maybe not as hard as most, but this is not an easy story. It’s not you know, I can’t imagine it was an easy story to tell because it’s not easy to read at point. Some of the things that you experienced in your childhood, whether it was, you know, just dealing with like the realities of poverty, whether it was dealing with an abusive parent, all of those dynamics that I think, you know, make a lot of the rest of us also look and go, yeah, okay. So whatever I thought was going on, not that bad, but also telling the story of growing up in the East Bronx during, you know, the or was it the South Bronx, I’m sorry, during the rise of hip hop, you know, like all of this is I mean, this just incredible fabric that you’re weaving. And one of the things that really struck me is I’m like, wow, you know, you may have been a wiz on Wall Street, but you are a writer, like for real. And you talk about and this is a podcast about writers, you know, at the end of the day, you talk about reading like one of the parts that to me I just felt like such a strong chord of empathy with you, not just the age thing, you know, the generational thing, but like that thing, that magic of reading, like as a kid and like wanting to have your own books and, like, you know, create your own worlds. Were you always really did you think this was something that you would end up doing? Was there ever like a a forecasting for yourself that you would be able to tell your story and create your own book and your own narrative?
Cin Fabré [00:07:09] You know, it’s funny because my friends have always said you should write a book, but it was never about Wall Street because that’s not something I ever talk about. They just talked about all the other things I’m always trying to share, and I’m always trying to just empower people. And, you know, when you’re reading books as a kid, I don’t know that you ever imagine yourself writing one, but you get so immersed in stories. And I love a good story, right? And writing this book for me was such a pleasure. It was also therapeutic. I laughed out loud at so many different things that I was writing about. And, you know, I remembered some of the hardest parts of that writing, some of the stories, because to relive those moments, to know that my children are going to see the things that I faced as a child. They don’t know some of the stories about abuse and how my parents functioned and how our household was so violent. So I think that was going to that was something I thought about. And I’m like, not if I can’t be honest with them, who will be? And so for me, sharing that story was the only way I could let them know that no matter what they do in life, they have to kind of own up to it and just be able to be proud of what it is that they come from and how they feel about it. So yeah, I enjoyed writing it, but it was hard for certain things and to tell people those stories. You’re really giving people like really, really some information that you may have never have said out loud before.
Maiysha Kai [00:08:30] Again, I know I caught you off guard in the beginning because I was like, I don’t know what I like. I don’t know what I expected here. I don’t know. I think, you know, as you said, we watched these movies and for some reason, one of the series that comes to mind now, I don’t know if you’ve seen this series Industry, I want to say it’s on is on HBO or Showtime, and it’s the first time I’ve seen like a Black girl centered in this kind of narrative and the grime of it and the drugs of it, the sex and the, you know, like all the, you know, and what you really kind of communicate, I think, in your narrative is it takes a certain psyche to do this, to to to have this kind of career. It’s not just about hunger. It’s not just about ambition. There’s a certain type of psychological, I don’t I don’t want to I mean, would you call it disassociation? What would you how how would you discuss that phase of your life? I mean, obviously, there’s the book, but.
Cin Fabré [00:09:26] Mean, listen, I’ve gotten it all from everybody. I’ve had so many people say, well, you have that listen, what? You’re not saying anything. And I’m glad you’re saying that. Right, because I think actually you’re the first person that I’ve had a conversation with that’s on social media that’s asked me that question. Right. Which it’s you know, I don’t know if people are afraid to ask that question, but yeah, I mean, listen, I’ve gotten called like you have traits of sociopaths, you know, like you have to be cold hearted. You have to have a you really cannot care. And I think that what it is right in this buiness, you do have to disassociate yourself from, you know, I’m not going to compare myself to a doctor, but that’s there’s no difference in the sense where a doctor cannot have those personal feelings, you know, as much as they want to feel for the patient. And for me, you know, if a client is losing money, I wasn’t in a position to be like, oh, man, I’m so sorry. No, because they need someone that’s going to be the advocate and still fighting for them, trying to figure it out. And so for me, that’s always what I wanted to do was fight. And so I think the job was great for me in that career path because no matter what happens and anything that I do, I believe in the fight.
Excerpt from “Wolf Hustle” [00:10:33] If you were to ask me whether stealing is a crime, I’d have to put that right back on you. Who’s done the stealing? Are they economically disadvantaged? Are they stealing from someone or something that has historically benefited from their labor, underpaid or not paid at all? What I’m trying to get at is, as cliche as it sounds, there’s a lot of gray in this world, and seeing things in stark Black and white isn’t always the way to do it.
Maiysha Kai [00:10:56] Well, I did not take you as a sociopath. That was not what I was trying to, and I didn’t get that. But maybe it’s because I used to listen. I used to be in the music industry. So maybe, you know, listen, I love that you said that you laughed out loud while you were writing some of this. Because, you know, again, I also don’t want to refer to people. And I think as so often happens with memoirs, you know, it’s like people think if you have a story like, you know, that’s major enough to tell or to merit a memoir, that it’s, you know, tragic all the way through or it’s, you know, what have you. And this actually is a very entertaining book, on so many levels. Like I saw the movie playing out, like I see what was happening here. You know, I even saw the awkward teenage haircuts. I saw the whole thing, you know? I really got it. And it is very visual. You know, when we talk about this craft of writing, we don’t I don’t know that we always give the visual aspect of writing enough credit. You know, we talk about words, but it’s the words that put the visions in your head. And as you said, you know, you love a good story. You love being immersed. Did that come naturally to you? Was that something you felt like you that your editors helped you tease out? Or was it something that, you know, that’s just the way you talk. You’re colorful. You know, you seem colorful to me.
Cin Fabré [00:12:12] Yeah. Listen, honestly, I remember speaking to my editor and she was like, you know, some of these scenes that you wrote in the book are just so sinematic, you know? And I’ve heard that, you know, and. You know, mean, just even recently, you know, when we were talking, she was like, something I could never do. And when you see things and the things that I write, I can I get that where people are like, I could never do that. That’s something you watch on television or whatever. But those are the scenes of my life. You know what I mean? So that didn’t need to be drawn out because they were there and it happened. And I felt that. And when I wrote it, I was just like I was back in the pit every single day when I was writing that book. Every one that I wrote about was around me, surrounding me. If you feel that, it’s because I meant it, you know, every time I wrote something, I was just like, I’m feeling it. So I loved writing that. And, you know, that’s why I’m like, I got to go book two, because.
Maiysha Kai [00:13:05] I think so.
Cin Fabré [00:13:05] You know what I mean?
Maiysha Kai [00:13:08] All right Cin, I’m going to ask you the thing that all writers want to know, especially because you were not coming from this world. Right. Or at least that I know of, you were not coming from this world. How do you go from, yes, this remarkable story to tell, to two decades later getting the deal to really flesh this story out and share it?
Cin Fabré [00:13:30] You know, when I tell, I said to my wife, first off, I was like, I want to write a book. She didn’t even blink that you go ahead and write it. You know, and I said, okay, and what comes after? And when I started to write about what it takes to get a book deal and get an agent, I’m like, Oh, no, there has to be another way. And so I did what I do. I network, you know, I’m like, first of all, in order to network, I need to have a good product. So I’m going to put my head down to write the story. I wrote the story. I’m one of the guys in the book his name is John Buckmaster. I call him Buck. He said, “Hey, do you mind if I read it?” I said, “Sure, why not?” And then that actually how it came about. He knew a friend that had a manager and was like, “That person will get you a book deal, it’s a great story.” My manager, who is my manager now when he read it, he said, this reads better than some screen I’m sorry, some scripts that I’ve read. And he was like, I see this in a movie, so we need to get this out into the world. And I tell people, you know, it is hard. Like getting on Wall Street was hard. Getting an agent is hard. Getting a manager is hard. Writing a book is hard. But if you have passion, passion will take you everywhere and anywhere you want to go.
Maiysha Kai [00:14:40] I love the reverse engineering of that, though, because I think, you know, so often people read that, you know, they start doing their research about how it’s supposed to happen and they’re like, okay, so I have to do a treatment I have to do. And what I love most about the way you just described that is that you knew that regardless, you had a story to tell and so you wrote the story. That to me is admirable. The story was going to get told regardless.
Cin Fabré [00:15:06] Regardless.
Maiysha Kai [00:15:07] All right. Well, we’re going to take just a minute and then we’ll be back with more Writing Black. All right. We are back with Cin Fabré and Wolf: A Black Woman on Wall Street. I love this cover, by the way. This is hot. So I love that you are already talking about book two, which people don’t always expect when your first book is a memoir. They’re like, oh, you look, you know, granted, you’re still pretty young and with plenty of life to live. What else do you think you want to write about?
Cin Fabré [00:15:39] You know, part of the reason I wrote the book was, in my novel, you know, talk about financial literacy and why we have such a large generational wealth gap. But there’s also more to this story as far as their initial story I tell in the book, and I actually can’t say what it is, but it’s already.
Maiysha Kai [00:16:00] That happens a lot to us.
Cin Fabré [00:16:02] It’s so good that I’ve written a lot of it out. A lot. A big chunk of it. And the people that have had eyes on it are like, amazing. I can’t even like, I don’t even know which one I’m going to like better. So it’s riveting. It’s it still continues about my journey. It talks a little bit after Wall Street. But again, it’s there to inspire. And I’ve learned writing this book, you know, that’s a good thing, right? Because I think a lot of times when people are writing, we don’t always know everything. You know, you and I don’t have a problem reaching out to people. I don’t have a problem talking to people. I’ll talk to anyone from two years old when they can start speaking to 90. Because I’m always learning. So I think that with this story, my second story as well, coming up, it’s who I am. It’s like, take it or leave it. You know, if you want to be cool with me, that’s cool. If you don’t, that’s okay. I’m not mad at people, so I’m just happy to just have conversations with people like yourself that appreciate the story for what it is. There’s no agenda. It’s just like, “Hey, I’m going to tell this story.”
Maiysha Kai [00:17:05] I mean, and how great to have the platform to tell it. I mean, I do think that this is like such an amazing time, maybe, you know, more than any since, you know, the Harlem Renaissance or maybe, let’s say the seventies, like, you know, that we get to tell our stories on our terms the way that we want them and just like. But what we do know also is that this this story wouldn’t have been able have been told then. You know, so. Right. You know, like there is there’s a groundbreaking there’s a pioneering that happens here in this story that’s not just about like being the only one in the room. But I think, you know. Yeah. Like really kind of marking a really a landmark time in terms of what we look at as Black progress in America. I think that’s a really interesting distinction and dissection that you’re kind of doing here, too. We’re going to take one more break and we’ll be right back with more Cin Fabré and more Writing Black.
Maiysha Kai [00:18:04] All right. I want to get back to the reading aspect just because, you know, I’m such an avid reader. You’re obviously an avid reader. Who inspires you? Who, what, what? As you’ve developed your voice or just your interests? Like what kind of writers inspired you?
Cin Fabré [00:18:21] You know, there’s so many amazing writers out there, Bell Hooks. Jacqueline Woodson.
Maiysha Kai [00:18:26] Love Jacqueline Woodson.
Cin Fabré [00:18:29] Roxane Gay actually became friends of Jacqueline. And, you know, there’s just so many writers. You know, you have James Baldwin, you know, you just have people writing from different aspects of their life and telling those stories. I can tell you about a non writer. I got to tell you, believe it or not, my mother inspired me throughout this whole book because I hear it in my voice every day, saying “Cindy whatever it is you want to do, do it,” you know, and that every single day as I move than anything I think about what I want to do. I know that I can do it because she found a way to do it without any of the resources I had back in the, you know, in the nineties. So I tell my kids not look at all the resources you have. There’s no excuse. Figure it out. So, yeah, I really believe that for me there, I can talk to someone like you and come away with something and that’ll inspire me for another project that I’m doing, you know what I mean? So as long as I keep having conversations, I’m going to keep getting inspired.
Maiysha Kai [00:19:27] All right. I do want to talk about inspiration some more. We’ll be back in a second with more Writing Black. And we are back. So Cin you’ve mentioned this a couple of times. I mean, it’s come up. I’ve brought it up. You’ve brought it up. The cinematic quality of this, is it safe to assume that you were having those conversations about this book? I’m like, are we going to see this on the screen? Because I think people need to see it. But, you know, that seems to be the trajectory these days of a lot of books. And I think, you know, as you mentioned, even getting a manager, it seemed like that was the conversation like part of the goal up front. How does it how does that strike? I mean, like, how do you feel about that? Like, I know that seems like overwhelming. Maybe it just feels great, but you know, that that’s handing your story over in a different way. Right. For development.
Cin Fabré [00:20:21] You know, so those conversations are obviously happening and they’re going to continue to happen for a little bit because for me, I also want to make sure I’m being fit. I think it’s, you know, conversations on both side of the table. I want to have creative control to a degree about how this portrays, but I also want to be able to tell the story in a way that people get it. You know, there’s no guesswork when they’re watching it. So, yeah, of course, it’s exciting. It’s validating to know that these amazing people that are produsing some of the greatest stuff on television and in film want to have conversations. And I also feel that the stories have to be told, right? Because if you think about it, Wall Street in 25 years hasn’t changed. It’s still an all boys white club. And publishing is pretty much the same, you know, in the sense that it’s, you know, predominantly white. And, you know, I want to make sure that I’m here to help amplify Black voices. And so if that means I got to sell a book, book by book, I will do it. It’s like brick by brick. So we can start to narrow these gaps in wherever we need to. And that we need to get in film to show how talented we are, in the sense of like, “Hey, this is how I got my deal,” I just want to show people like, you’re creative and you know that you want to get it done, you’ll get it done.
Maiysha Kai [00:21:33] You know, I love that you said that because, again, you know, doubling back to the financial literacy conversation because that was something that really struck me. And it is kind of your grace note on this whole thing, you know, even from the way that you describe entering the pit, the division of the pit, it just like you see so many I mean, that is a motif. I mean, I guess I can’t help but be throughout the book, but even at that level, entering the pit, it’s this very like you don’t know what you don’t know. Like you don’t know how they’re using you. You don’t know how you’re being set up to try to stay right there. Right. I mean, obviously, you’re a parent, so there’s a certain amount of education you’re doing in general. Is this something that you see yourself also delving into, like on a broader scale, the financial literacy conversation for us on a larger scale? Cause I think we we. I mean, I know I did. I struggled with that too much. I was in the music industry, so you can only guess how that went.
Cin Fabré [00:22:40] Yeah, no, I got you right there when you said that. I’m actually having some conversation now with some of the largest HBCUs that are looking to possibly get my book into the curriculum as far as how they feel like I have learned experience and that’s something they feel like, not necessarily, you can just go back to like 30 years ago where people may not have been as honest and writing and what they were telling as their story because we have limitations on what we can do and how we move. And I just was like super raw, you know what I mean? Like, I was just raw about it. And so I think that’s really important when we talk about where we have to get that education out there early. And I honestly think it should go way back to elementary school, start having those conversations. But I’ll tell you what, we can get it, you know, at the same time, you know, so I need a platform in order to spread that word. So, yeah, that’s my thoughts. Hopefully the end goal here is to get that financial literacy spread.
Maiysha Kai [00:23:45] You know, and I want to talk about this. You said you just said something that like struck me so hard because I think of myself oddly in these same terms. You know, it’s like I did go to college for a degree that I don’t think I used until very, very recently. And even in that respect, you know, it’s like coming into an industry where maybe you weren’t the most connected or the most credentialed or the, you know, what have you. Like, I didn’t go to J-school, right? You know, but I’m a journalist. I feel like that power of learned experience, especially when it comes to people who look like us, is consistently underestimated. And so I was really excited by what you were talking about, to have HBCUs recognizing that. But also, is there a way you think we can kind of further incorporate that into the dialog? Because reading your story, I was sitting there like, they’re dudes who are going to go, you know, get finance degrees and will never have that much kind of like natural instinct, you know, or hunger.
Cin Fabré [00:24:53] I think it’s all about the conversations. You know, it’s funny because it’s like when you think about age and what people pay for their house, you know, people don’t want to talk about it. Money is not taboo. Money is you know, it is what we need to survive, you know?
Maiysha Kai [00:25:10] Mm hmm.
Cin Fabré [00:25:11] I can’t live off a garden as much as I want to. I need to be able to buy those seeds, you know what I mean? So if people will start having more conversations and I think that’s kind of why the HBCUs have this interest and me speaking with them and saying, hey, this is what it is, we can figure it out, we can keep talking about it. It doesn’t necessarily need to be something that we only talk about when when the fifties and sixties have those conversations now with your five year old. You know what I mean? Because if they can count, they can count money.
Maiysha Kai [00:25:41] Right. Right, right. I love that. One of your first jobs, you were a tutor because you were like, oh, I figured that that because that’s how I got my pocket change together.
Cin Fabré [00:25:50] Exactly.
Maiysha Kai [00:25:52] I tutor you in math. I got that.
Cin Fabré [00:25:54] I got math all day. It’s basic. It’s simple. And it can be very simple if we just start learning early. It doesn’t need to be complicated. So that education I will always stress is super important because for me to walk into that industry at that age and not even know what the stock market was is scary. It was really scary. It’s even scarier that I was allowed in.
Maiysha Kai [00:26:20] I was thinking that part.
Cin Fabré [00:26:21] Yeah, let’s say it out loud. We should talk about that. Yeah, I definitely I don’t feel like that should, it’s obvious. I want there not knowing anything.
Maiysha Kai [00:26:30] Yeah. I mean the way that you talked about it, it almost sounded like the military like, oh, well, we’re going to go and like catch these like kids like, you know, fresh out of high school or who are looking for an opportunity. Or maybe this is, you know, and as we know, that there there are many industries, both legal and illegal, that have that same model in terms of how they recruit. That was wild to me. That was wild to me. To be handling millions and millions of people’s dollars. Right.
Cin Fabré [00:27:03] It is wild and I wrote it. I didn’t say I didn’t do it. I was like, listen I have no education. I literally learned about stock market on a lunch room line trying to get my hustle going. And I was like, well, if these people could do it, I could do it. And, you know, here’s the thing, right? I walked into that room. I’ll never forget it. And I walked in there and I’m like, there’s no way there’s anyone here that can do better than I can. They’re not that smart, you know what I mean? I wanted to be able to figure it out. And I think just like finances, we still have to have that education. We still have to one because eventually you will burn out or you will get burned out or pushed out. And so that’s why financial literacy is very important to me.
Maiysha Kai [00:27:42] Also, I think you use the word inspiration a lot during this conversation, but I also think that what you were just talking about, that confidence to you know, we I think, you know, a lot of us are still fighting that whole like, you know, that thing about being as good as a mediocre white man, right. You know, like we’re still we’re still trying to, like, you know, fake it till we make it or, you know, believe that we deserve to enter certain rooms or sit at certain tables or do certain things or build our own tables, as it were, without those resources. And that, you know, like, again, like the textures that you have teased out here in this book, like I really can’t say enough. I just was so struck by it. I was so excited to talk to you about it. I get why, you know, you got everybody from, you know, a poet to a manager excited about it because these are the conversations we aren’t having. I also love, frankly, and I’m saying this as a woman in her mid-forties, I love that you put this book out now.
Maiysha Kai [00:28:45] Listen, I mean, you know, I think, you know, that may not have been planned, but I do think, you know, you were just saying we don’t talk about age. And I think you were referring to it from the standpoint of like talking to little people about, you know, money and literacy. But I also do think that we creatively sometimes get this message, that moment has passed or, you know, that our voices stop being relevant at a certain point or, you know, that is just a young person’s world to like do young people things. And having been a creative young person myself, I believe that was true when I was that young.
Cin Fabré [00:29:24] Wow. So I mean, I totally get it right because I have teenagers now and I’m like, what are you not so sure about? You go in there. You walk in there. This is what you say. “No, Mommy, we don’t, no.” “Can you stop being so loud.” “Can you stop embarrassing us,” and I’m like, “Why is asking for something you deserve or you want or you need embarrassing?” Just ask. How are you going to receive if you don’t ask? And so for me, I think for me and the book and maybe even come off egotistical in the book, but I was just speaking how it is. I was raised a certain way. I believed in myself. I believe in the things that I do. And, you know, I believe that there is hope and everything that I feel can be done. Even if someone’s like, no, it’s 100% no, I’m like, nah, there’s got to be a 1%. I’ll take that 1% and I’m going to run with it. So yeah, I think confidence is just something that you start to build up over time for some people. And I think for me also growing up in the household I did, I knew that I needed to take care of myself.
Maiysha Kai [00:30:26] And in the city that you did. As a longtime New Yorker myself, I was like, this is a New York conversation. This is a New York conversation right here. I love that. I love that. I love that so much. And I have absolutely loved this conversation. I love this book I’m going to be recommending. And I think this is a gift that folks can give this holiday season because it’s coming up. You know, because it does it makes you think in so many ways. And I think there’s so many people who are going to get so much out of this on so many levels. So Cin thank you for writing this book. Thank you for being so candid about it. And I can’t wait to see what you do next. And by the way, don’t worry about having a favorite project. You got four kids, you’re going to be fine. You know how to spread the love. You know how to spread the love. But what a pleasure to talk to you. Cin Fabré, Wolf Hustle: A Black Woman on Wall Street.
Cin Fabré [00:31:20] Thank you so much.
Maiysha Kai [00:31:22] All right. Well, we’re going to take just a minute and then we’ll be back with more Writing Black. Okay. And we are back with more Writing Black. So if you watch writing Black on a regular basis, you know, this is the part of the episode where I like to share with you other books that I love that are often related to the guests that we’ve had on. And, you know, one of the things I love about Cin’s book is that it’s not just about this unlikely trajectory through Wall Street or even about how dynamic she had to be to start that career at 19 years old. It’s also very much a story about the American dream. It’s a story about being raised by immigrant parents, in her case her parents are Haitian and the expectations that come with that and the challenges that come with that.
Maiysha Kai [00:32:15] And so another book that I think really hits on that dynamic so well and is equally beautifully told. I mean, just gorgeous prose here. And this is not a memoir. It’s fiction is Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and this novel, I want to say, came out in maybe 2019, 2020 perhaps. Yaa Gyasi also wrote Homegoing, another incredible story that really hits on a lot of the Black immigrant experience in America. But this is a fantastic read, as is Wolf Hustle. I highly recommend both because when we talk about the nuances of Black existence in America, obviously we’re not just talking about African-Americans, we’re talking about Africans. We’re talking about, you know, folks in the Caribbean, West Indians, etc.. And the nuances of the stories, the history that’s brought into them, like just the richness and understanding of those dynamics, I think, helps to even better shine a light on the experience of those of us who are descendants of the transatlantic slave trade. So I think if you have a chance to read these two remarkable books by these two remarkable women, you absolutely should. And I will see you next time on Writing Black. Thanks so much for joining us for this week’s episode of Writing. Black. Writing Black is produced by Albert Parnell. Our managing editor is Regina Griffin and our editor is Geoffrey Trudeau. As always, you can find us on theGrio app or wherever you find your podcasts.
[00:33:55] You are now listening to theGrio’s Black Podcast Network, Black Culture Amplified.
