'The Tao Gals' Guide To Real Estate'

A new book blends real estate market fixation with Eastern philosophy-inspired self-help advice.

1 minute read

February 14, 2006, 7:00 AM PST

By David Gest


Michelle Huneven, novelist and first-time house-buyer, has collaborated with Bernadette Murphy to produce "The Tao Gals' Guide to Real Estate: Six Modern Women Discover the Ancient Art of Finding, Owning and Making a Home."

"Their book is uniquely of its moment in blending America's top two obsessions: real estate and self-help with an Eastern flavor. It offers instruction in mortgages and Taoist detachment, as well as much insight into what happens to otherwise levelheaded folks when 'home' morphs into 'real estate.'"

Sunday, February 5, 2006 in New York Times via Chicago Tribune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

30 minutes ago - Wired

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

1 hour ago - The Urbanist

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

2 hours ago - CBC