It takes a special talent to explain complex, technical matters to non-experts in a way that is both informative and entertaining. Prof. Nathalie Martin, a professor of law at University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque and ABI's fall 2005 Robert M. Zinman Resident Scholar, has that special talent, and she displays it marvelously in her new book, The New Bankruptcy Code and You: Achieving Financial Fitness after Financial Failure, part of the popular J.K. Lasser series. Based on her years of experience counseling consumer debtors and educating future lawyers, Prof. Martin presents a total picture of the consumer financial roller coaster and how readers can successfully navigate the ride. The book offers far more than a careful and enlightening first look at the confusing new bankruptcy law; it brings the world of consumer finance into clear focus and places bankruptcy in context as an unfortunate but important part of that world. Financial counselors, bankruptcy lawyers and other consumer finance experts will find this book both engaging and informative, but their current and potential clients are the book's primary audience. For consumers who want to know more about financial planning, economic distress and the bankruptcy process, including what bankruptcy can (and cannot) offer them and how they can come back from their descent into financial purgatory, this book is a unique gem.

Prof. Martin begins by guiding the reader gently into the touchy topic of financial failure. Demonstrating a level of sensitivity and compassion that comes from years of face-to-face contact with debtors in trouble, she begins by easing the guilt and shame that financially overextended people often feel. The opening chapters place individual consumer financial distress in its proper context, offering debtors a crucial and often neglected perspective. After a general upheaval in consumer finance in the United States over the last several decades, the days of simple and predictable consumer finances are now a distant memory. It should surprise no one that consumer financial distress is sharply on the rise, given the backdrop of such developments as the explosive growth of long-term home loans (including often-dangerous home equity loans), aggressive if not abusive marketing and processing tactics by credit card issuers, the dynamic and unpredictable job situation and "outsourcing," and the looming health care crisis.

While some recent observers bemoan the "paradox" of rising bankruptcy filings in times of historically high general economic welfare, this discussion reminds us that welfare is not evenly distributed, and crisis strikes a select few harder than others. Prof. Martin brings to bear the latest trends and research to clarify just how sharp the razor's edge between financial health and failure has become. Economic distress results from a multiplicity of contributing causes, and the introductory chapters remind distressed readers that profligate spending and failure to plan are far from the most prominent causes of their problems.

Establishing a holistic view of the consumer financial system, the book continues with a concise roadmap for minimizing debt, budgeting and saving to build financial stability and a personal safety net. Martin makes this discussion both fun and engaging with personal anecdotes about her own household's approach to saving and spending. At one point, for example, she recounts how her husband "wrapped sticky tape around both our [credit] cards" to motivate them to pay off a balance more quickly. Readers following this advice might avoid bankruptcy altogether, but they certainly can use Prof. Martin's guidance to rebuild their financial lives after bankruptcy.

This unique contribution to the existing "how-to" consumer finance literature adds a "positive" to the "negative" of temporary money trouble. Its placement early in the book draws the reader in with a subtle reminder that financial health is just around the corner. As she reveals in detail the very real dangers of credit cards and overspending, Prof. Martin maintains a positive focus by empowering readers to beat the credit card issuers at their own game. Masterfully avoiding a presentation that comes off as preachy or condescending, Prof. Martin encourages personal responsibility in a positive and constructive way.

Warming up for the main exercise to come, the following chapters offer a refreshingly engaging and complete introduction to general debtor-creditor law. Here is where Prof. Martin's experience as a great teacher begins to really shine. She guides the uninitiated from absolute zero to a quite sophisticated analysis of the law governing the debtor-creditor relationship. Readers develop a level of expertise without realizing it, and therefore without an opportunity to resist the conceptually complex material. The book even includes a nice glossary of debtor-creditor law terms and a detailed listing of state exemptions.

One particularly useful and rare contribution is the discussion of bankruptcy alternatives and specific types of debtors for whom bankruptcy is either unnecessary or unhelpful. Few "do-it-yourself" bankruptcy manuals contain any discussion of these important issues, and Prof. Martin's discussion is particularly revealing and insightful. Financial distress comes in many varieties, and Prof. Martin offers an all-too-rare explanation of how bankruptcy is not a magic pill for all ills.

The remainder of the book offers a careful and detailed step-by-step guide through the bankruptcy process. To the envy of many a commercial law professor, Prof. Martin manages to cover intricately detailed material without devolving into a dry "cookbook" discussion. She maintains a disarmingly chatty and personable presentation while providing extremely detailed and complete coverage of the entire process, from preparing to file (information review, document collection, timing the filing, line-by-line analysis of the required paperwork, the new credit counseling requirement) to issues arising during chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases (§341 meeting of creditors, automatic stay, avoiding powers, treatment of secured and unsecured creditors, the new financial management training requirement) to post-bankruptcy and the discharge (including its many exceptions). Prof. Martin's discussion of the new "means test," as it will apply in both chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases, is particularly lucid and helpful, as is her discussion of the key changes facing filers after Oct. 17, 2005. Even experienced professionals can benefit from this "transition" discussion.

True to the title of the book, Prof. Martin concludes with a brief chapter on investing to rebuild financial fitness. In a brilliant psychological move, she closes with a reminder that things will get better, perhaps much better—how energizing it is that a book on financial distress closes with a high note on financial health. This is not just one more among many books about the bankruptcy process. It is a book about managing debt and using the law wisely to regain financial health after trouble strikes. Prof. Martin achieves the hefty goal she sets for herself in the title, and she does it with style.

This book should be on the reception table of all credit counselors and consumer lawyers who want their clients to really understand what they are getting into and what it will take to get out. Prof. Martin's book is every bit as entertaining as the latest issue of People or Newsweek, and its coverage of the very real problems consumer readers face is far better than the superficial advice found in such pop-culture sources. This book demonstrates the magic that an author who is also a great teacher can perform.