The Ruby Book Club Returns! Join us on Tuesday, June 17, from 6:00 - 7:30pm.
Our June Book is Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. One of the few 2025 that's managed to break through the noise and horror of this year. It's a tell-all memoir about working at Facebook. Grab a copy from the local library or from a local bookstore
We've read these tech industry memoirs: it's a whole genre at this point. But this is one of the only books that's by someone who's in the inner circle: the author was director of global public policy at Facebook (or is it Meta? I can't keep the names straight).
This book is a first-hand account of what it's like to work with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Apparently, they are shockingly careless and out-of-touch. I thought I knew these people were ridiculous, but when I finally started reading excerpts, I saw that the reality was much worse than I'd been able to imagine. Let's see (and judge) for ourselves.
About Careless People
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to “lean in.”
Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.
About Sara Wynn-Williams
Sarah Wynn-Williams worked as a diplomat for New Zealand, including in Washington, DC. She joined Facebook after pitching a job and ultimately became director of global public policy. After leaving the company she has continued to work on tech policy, with a focus on artificial intelligence.