Never Give Up!
Wall Street insider Lori Van Dusen shares a story of hope and resilience in her award-winning memoir Running with Grace.
When Lori Van Dusen was a young professional at Shearson Lehman Brothers, she encountered then-chairman Peter Cohen lighting a cigar while walking out of the elevator.
Van Dusen had been building a strong client base, and her boss introduced her as an up-and-coming trainee.
“Cohen barely acknowledged me,” she recalls. “He looked up from his cigar with what felt like open disdain—giving off a why-are-you-bothering-me-peasant vibe—and kept walking. I looked at my boss and shrugged.”
Though the encounter was disappointing, it didn’t stop Van Dusen from staying with the firm for 20 years and becoming one of its top producers. But Running with Grace is about so much more than a successful career. It’s an invitation to reflect on resilience and the pursuit of a purposeful life. Described as a work of “great emotional power” by Kirkus, this deeply personal narrative is definitely not your typical Wall Street memoir.
“I wrote this book to inspire young professional women,” Van Dusen says. “Women juggle a lot while building our careers—and I’m not just talking partners, friends, and families. There will be tragedies, unpleasant surprises, pressures, and failures. In the course of my career, I’ve experienced all of these on an epic scale.”
With great candor, Van Dusen describes overcoming significant personal and professional hurdles, including navigating rampant sexism, surviving a sexual assault in graduate school, facing a life-altering medical diagnosis and a lawsuit from one of the world’s most powerful banks, and coping with the devastating loss of her husband. “There were times when I didn’t know if I was brave enough to publish this book, to put myself and all the intimate details of my life out into the world for everyone to see,” she says. “But I’m so glad I overcame my fears. So many people have reached out and shared how the book has helped and inspired them.”
Van Dusen began her Wall Street career in 1986 and confronted the unfettered sexism that pervaded the industry at the time. “Even today, Wall Street is hardly a supportive environment for young women,” she says. “You can only imagine how it was back in the 1980s and ’90s. I didn’t like the culture of Wall Street, but I did like my job. So, I ignored the crass remarks, put my head down, and concentrated on the work. I learned to be comfortable, and very successful, as an outsider. But over the years, I became increasingly disillusioned with business as usual on Wall Street.”
After rising to the role of managing director with Citigroup Smith Barney, Van Dusen left Wall Street and ultimately started her own independent investment advisory firm, LVW Advisors. She has been recognized as number 1 on Forbes’ Best-in-State Advisors list and was inducted into the prestigious Barron’s Hall of Fame, among other accolades.
After the devastating death of her husband during the pandemic and her mother soon after, Van Dusen struggled to pick up the pieces once again. “Some people face more challenges than others, and I’ve certainly had my fair share,” she says. “But I know I’m not alone. No life is without adversity. What defines our journey is how we react to it. Every day is still hard. But profound life events change you in unexpected ways. I’m deeper, more thoughtful, and more empathetic.”
The world will always push against our dreams, our vision, our core values, and sometimes even our sanity—but we’ve got to push back.
— Lori Van Dusen
Publishing Running with Grace has been part of Van Dusen’s healing journey. “I decided to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of my life,” she says. “I wanted to show young women that I’m still standing, despite all of it. I hope that by watching me survive, they’ll realize they can survive, too. The world will always push against our dreams, our vision, our core values, and sometimes even our sanity—but we’ve got to push back. We’ve got to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. And while we’re helping ourselves, it’s important to share our hardearned wisdom with others. This is what gives our lives meaning.”