The Tao Gal's Guide to Real Estate: Finding the House of Your Dreams with the Help of Six Women and the Ancient Art of the Tao

by Bernadette Murphy, Michelle Huneven

At last, a readable, entertaining, and practical real estate guide―the perfect companion for women intent on buying a home.

Once a week, six women living in Los Angeles meet to read from the Tao te Ching and reflect on their lives. One subject arises over and the dream of owning a home. One by one they take on the real estate market. They discover, among themselves, great reservoirs of expertise and experience that keep them sane―and laughing―along the way. Now, the Tao Girls want to share that expertise and experience with women who find themselves similarly confused, frustrated, or disappointed.

The Tao Girl's Guide to Real Estate offers a way to keep your head through it all, to eliminate that sense of helplessness, overwhelming tension, and emotional fatigue so often a part of finding a home. In telling their lively and often amusing personal stories, the Tao Girls also deliver a terrific dose of practical advice for buying any house―from the smallest condo to a suburban family dream house.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2006

About the author

Bernadette Murphy is an author and New York Times-bestselling collaborative writer working with celebrities and other public figures. Her personal works include the bestselling Zen and the Art of Knitting (2002, Adams Media/Simon & Schuster) and Harley and Me: Embracing Risk on the Road to a More Authentic Life (2016, Counterpoint Press), which combined memoir with neuroscience and biology. Her essays on life, religion, and literature have appeared in LitHub, Ms. Magazine, The Rumpus, Palm Springs Life, Climbing Magazine, New York Observer, and elsewhere. Previously, she served as a weekly book critic for the Los Angeles Times, and as an associate professor for the MFA program at Antioch University Los Angeles. Currently, she teaches at The Newport MFA at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island.

When not writing, she pursues outdoor adventures—rock and ice climbing, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, backpacking—as well as quieter interests like meditation, knitting, and reading. She raised three outstanding young adults and is in joyous reunion with the son she relinquished for adoption. She lives in Park City, Utah. Find her online at: bernadettemurphy.com.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheezy title, and the byline promises more than it delivers, but this was a decently written, fun to read, and verrrrry informative book. I would recommend it to any woman who is thinking of buying real estate.

[Elusive.Mystery · Rating 1 out of 5]

A 25 cent bargain, -which shows to tell how fickle the real market is and how a mere two years can make s book out of date -, a fluff book that reads like airport or beach fodder, light and superficial, easily followed, and peppered here and there with occasional valid advice.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful in my search to become a homeowner. I will keep this one around for reference.