Jillian Medoff

Jillian Medoff is the acclaimed author of I Couldn’t Love You More, Hunger Point (both national bestsellers) and Good Girls Gone Bad.

Her new novel is This Could Hurt.

From Medoff's Q&A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: You note that This Could Hurt was inspired by your interactions with a former boss who had suffered a stroke. How did that experience lead you to create the world you depict in the novel?

A: I have a long-time career as a management consultant. I advise HR executives on how to communicate with employees during organizational changes that range from big high-stress events (i.e., mergers & acquisitions) to smaller but equally complicated benefit modifications (i.e., implementing a 401(k) plan).

I've worked for several Fortune 500 companies (Deloitte, Aon, Segal), so I had a comprehensive understanding of HR but mostly from the outside looking in.

In 2009, I was laid off from Aon after 10 years and took a job in the HR department of a research company. My boss, a woman in her 60s, was a bully who lied, yelled, and tormented her staff; she also appeared to be losing her faculties. She told me she'd had a stroke a few years before, and I wondered if this accounted for her erratic behavior.

She had a small staff of senior managers—much like in This Could Hurt. They'd worked with her for many years, and were very loyal, despite fearing her wrath. (The company had gone several rounds of layoffs, so they probably thought that by saving her, they’d also save themselves. Unfortunately, business doesn’t always work that way.) They covered for her in meetings and behind the scenes in ways that...[read on]

Visit Jillian Medoff's website.

My Book, The Movie: This Could Hurt.

Writers Read: Jillian Medoff.

--Marshal Zeringue