Review: 'The Wealth Cure: Putting Money In Its Place' by Hill Harper

— -- In his new book, The Wealth Cure: Putting Money In Its Place, Hill Harper takes you on several journeys — a train ride from Los Angeles to Chicago, an introspective look at life as he deals with a cancer diagnosis, and a spiritual quest to explore the true meaning of wealth. Along the way, the CSI: NY star offers advice about money management — and life — seducing readers with raw, even painful, honesty about himself.

This combination of personal reflection and practical information is part of what has earned Harper a spot on The New York Times Best Sellers list with three previous books.

Early in The Wealth Cure, he hangs out with a friend who spends so much at a nightclub that the author thinks of "how many school uniforms, musical instruments, or computers that money could have provided. This type of conspicuous consumption bothers me especially when it's obvious that a lot of this floss is more than likely covering up a deeper insecurity that spending money isn't about to fix."

That quote is our first cue that this is a different kind of financial book, one that not only urges us to look at how we use our money but also at how we define wealth. It's as much about personal philosophy as about advice on building a solid financial future.

A pensive three-day train ride from Los Angeles to Chicago comes after an endocrinologist's proclamation: "Hill, we believe you have thyroid cancer … the worst kind." On the journey he works on this book, mixing his research and advice from financial experts with real life experiences of people he meets on the train.

"True happiness," says Harper, "is having our life balanced and organized so we are free to pursue any dream."

He approaches building wealth using the same method he believes he must use to rebuild his health. Readers are led through a series of questions to help them diagnose their financial situation, then offered treatment options. To help readers stick with the plan, Harper delves into our habits and his. He offers advice such as how to clean up your credit score and the importance of shifting your attitude from one in which decisions are made based on fear to one where the focus is on gratefulness.

Harper has a knack for showing his humanity and thus making our mistakes seem normal and surmountable. Like many people, he uses affirmations and he gives us examples: "I am a great investor of my time and my money; I am confident that I will reach my goals."

He arrives in Chicago to discover life's circumstances have improved greatly for the friend he had come to check on. On the trip, Harper has taken inventory of his own life.

"I realized that the two biggest happiness stealers in my life are the areas of health and debt," he notes. To give happiness a better chance, Harper lives by certain "Wealth Factors," including being credit-card debt-free and continuing to act in and create projects that uplift, inspire and entertain.

The epilogue assures us that Harper's thyroid was successfully removed. There was no lasting damage to his voice, and his journey inside himself seems to have led him to a brighter plateau.