AVAILABLE
OCT 20
People often know which subjects matter. What they do not always know is how to discuss them without sounding greedy, disrespectful, disloyal, intrusive, or unkind.
Unspeakable offers stories, scripts, questions, and tools for approaching those conversations with greater preparation and judgment.
WHAT IS AN UNSPEAKABLE?
The subject is not necessarily hidden. It may be hinted at, discussed privately, or already influencing decisions—just not with the people most affected.
So people wait for a better moment. They hope someone else will bring it up. In the meantime, plans form without shared information, decisions are made around people rather than with them, and the conversation happens too late—or only after circumstances force it.
The question is not only, “Is this difficult?” It is, “What has made this subject feel off-limits—and what would make it possible to discuss before assumptions shape the outcome?”
People often hesitate because bringing it up may sound…
GREEDY
DISRESPECTFUL
DISLOYAL
INTRUSIVE
Accusatory
UNKIND
GREEDY
DISRESPECTFUL
DISLOYAL
INTRUSIVE
Accusatory
UNKIND
GREEDY
DISRESPECTFUL
DISLOYAL
INTRUSIVE
Accusatory
UNKIND
CHRISTINA WING
Helping leaders, families, and organizations talk about the taboo subjects already shaping their decisions.
Across Harvard Business School classrooms and her advisory work with business-owning families, Christina has seen how often the formal decision is only part of the conversation.
Questions about succession, ownership, performance, money, and responsibility become more difficult when age, readiness, fear, family history, or what happens next feel too personal to discuss openly.
That experience—along with the conversations her own family never had—led Christina to write Unspeakable: a practical, case-led guide to understanding why certain subjects become taboo and finding a thoughtful way to bring them into the conversation.
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL FACULTY
AUTHOR OF UNSPEAKABLE
FOUNDER, WINGSPAN LEGACY PARTNERS
AVAILABLE
OCT 20
TOPICS EXPLORED
Age, retirement, and succession
Failures, mistakes, and apologies
Death, estate planning, and inheritance
Work-family conflict
Money
Fear
Age, retirement, and succession
Failures, mistakes, and apologies
Death, estate planning, and inheritance
Work-family conflict
Money
Fear
Age, retirement, and succession
Failures, mistakes, and apologies
Death, estate planning, and inheritance
Work-family conflict
Money
Fear
Age, retirement, and succession
Failures, mistakes, and apologies
Death, estate planning, and inheritance
Work-family conflict
Money
Fear
Layoffs, firings, and unemployment
Ownership and governance
Religion and race
Politics
How to have the conversation
Layoffs, firings, and unemployment
Ownership and governance
Religion and race
Politics
How to have the conversation
Layoffs, firings, and unemployment
Ownership and governance
Religion and race
Politics
How to have the conversation
Layoffs, firings, and unemployment
Ownership and governance
Religion and race
Politics
How to have the conversation
WHAT READERS WILL FIND
Scripts for the conversations people most want to avoid
Reflection questions to clarify what is really at stake
Conversation starters for taboo and sensitive topics
Practical tools for preparing before the stakes are highest
Stories that show what silence can cost — and what becomes possible when people begin
INQUIRY
BRING THE TABOO SUBJECT INTO THE CONVERSATION
WITH CHRISTINA WING
Invite Christina to speak, join a media conversation, or work with your organization on the taboo and sensitive subjects already influencing decisions, relationships, and outcomes.
SPEAKING / MEDIA / PODCAST / BULK ORDERS / PARTNERSHIP / OTHER
INQUIRE ABOUT SPEAKING OR MEDIA
AVAILABLE
OCT 20
Pre-Order Now
Available anywhere books are sold