Breaking Glass

Featured in Fast Company

A “drama-filled...compelling memoir” from the “smartest woman on Wall Street.” —Kirkus Reviews

Kicked out of a cult at seventeen, Patricia Walsh Chadwick started on the bottom rung of the ladder in the world of business and worked her way to the top—breaking through the glass ceiling to become a global partner at Invesco.

Patricia grew up in a religious community-turned-cult in the Boston area. At the age of seventeen, she was forced out of her home, leaving behind her entire family, and without access to higher education. From her first job as a receptionist at a brokerage firm, she clawed her way up the ladder—rung by rung—in that bastion of male chauvinism: Wall Street. By going to college at night, she achieved her degree in economics from Boston University, and from there, she headed to New York City.

With a drive that earned her the moniker “Witch of Wall Street,” she rose from the ranks of research analyst to portfolio manager, where she was responsible for billions of dollars in pension and endowment assets. A turning point in her life was giving birth to twins at the age of forty-five, and she continued forward in her career, becoming a global partner at Invesco. At the turn of the millennium, she left Wall Street behind and embarked on a second career as a corporate board director.