TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The Bookworm Sez Advertisement

Retail therapy is a wonderful thing.

One trip to the store, one peek at saws and suits, diamonds and dresses, and you go home with lots of new possessions, some of which you didn't even know you needed.

And what do you do when there's only dust in the wallet and pockets full of lint? You rely on that age-old rallying cry: "Charge!"

Hold on, though.

Before you whip out the plastic, read "Maxed Out" by James D. Scurlock. This book will save you a whole lot more than 10 percent on your purchases. It might save your house, your family, and your life.

When an offer for a six-months-no-interest credit card comes in the mail, it's awfully tempting, almost like free money. You fill out the form, drop it in the mail and the credit card comes right to your door. You start to use it and maybe you miss a payment or two. Or three. Soon, you're up to your forehead in fees.

Then another credit card offer comes in the mail...

Because of a reluctantly admitted youthful bout with scary debt, James Scurlock decided to make a documentary about Americans and debt. This book is the companion to his film, and it's sobering.

According to Scurlock, incomes have risen about 1 percent in "real terms" in the past generation, while household debt increased over 1,000 percent. Scurlock cites the Federal Reserve in saying that 12 percent of young families were more than two months behind on their debts in 2004. With new bankruptcy laws, that figure has undoubtedly gone up.

Scurlock interviewed people in the industry and, to his shock, found that credit card companies and big banks encourage debt-to-the-extreme.

Fees and "extras" such as unneeded insurance are the ways that banks make their money. For instance, although Scurlock says they take little to no time to process, there's a reason that "bounced checks" come with a $25 or higher bank fee.

On the other side of the teller's window, Scurlock interviewed people who were deeply in debt, a man imprisoned for murdering his family over a $5,000 credit card bill, a handicapped woman whose house is in imminent danger of foreclosure because of bad advice, and the family of a woman who drove off a pier because her gambling debts got out of hand.

I've read an abundance of horror novels and thrillers this year, but "Maxed Out" chilled me like no other book.

Author Scurlock burrows deep into the financial industry and credit card businesses, and what he finds will make you want to take scissors to everything in your wallet.

Through on- and off-camera interviews, Scurlock exposes collections agents, financial experts, government agencies and others who make money off of your money, and he's compassionate when he writes about "victims" who are swimming in credit but drowning in debt.

If you own a credit card, leave it at home, get to a bookstore and pay cash for "Maxed Out". You'll long be indebted to Scurlock for the things you'll learn by reading it.

"Maxed Out" by James D. Scurlock, Scribner, $24, 248 pages.