Rich Brother Rich Sister

January 5, 2009
In this absorbing memoir, a departure in everything but title for Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad), the investment guru and his Buddhist sister Emi narrate their life stories in terms of spiritual wealth. Switching off within chapters, the fourth-generation Japanese-American siblings describe their 1960s Hawaii upbringing, noting their independent rebellious streaks and attempts to challenge their parent's Christianity and the small-town lifestyle. Robert shipped off to Vietnam, a marine helicopter pilot with a reputation for hell-raising, before returning to the states to become a successful entrepreneur and student of visionary thinker Buckminster Fuller. Emi, meanwhile, became a single mother and an anti-war activist before discovering Buddhism, becoming ordained by the Dali Lama and working as a chaplain for the US Air Force Academy. Sister and brother reunited in 2007, when Robert offered financial support for Emi's heart surgery; the spiritual bond they discovered, and its lessons, led to this book. Emi now sees the need for "better bridges for our spiritual life and livelihood," while Robert finds that life is a quest for one's "spiritual family," a process that necessitates "finding the things in life worth dying for."