Caitlin Kelly

Welcome!

My books both explore national issues of ongoing importance -- women and gun use, and the retail industry, which employs 15 million Americans and is the largest source of new jobs.

I wrote "Blown Away: American Women and Guns" to explore why firearms, from the founding of the United States to today, remain such an essential element of American identity for so many people -- 30 percent of American homes contain a gun. I don't own one, but wanted to understand and explain why so many women do, and why some others would never make that choice. The book is fair and balanced, a first on that topic in this respect.

"Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail" examines in detail the enormous retail industry we're all part of -- we all shop! I took a part-time job at a suburban New York mall in September 2007 to add income to my freelance writing work (for The New York Times, More, Marie-Claire and many others.)

But, 27 months later, I quit to write "Malled", which discusses this powerful $4 trillion industry in lively, personal detail. There's no book just like it.

My goal in "Malled" is to make clear(er) what working in retail means, to employees, shoppers, investors in that industry and to managers whose job it is to hire, manage and motivate workers, even for extremely low wages under difficult conditions.

Both books are down to earth and easy to read, full of original interviews with interesting people nationwide and lots of surprising information. (Like: Why don't malls use acoustical ceiling tile?)

You'll find terrific reviews -- from People, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly -- and sample chapters at malledthebook.com.