SUMMARY: During the 1970s, Alice Combs, undeterred by a former employer’s condescending pronouncement, “You’re just not corporate material,” transformed herself from divorced mother on food stamps to successful entrepreneur.
The BookViral Review: Genre – Business Biographies & Memoirs (Books)
For readers who enjoy self-made memoirs Alice Combs’s rocky road to success should inspire the entrepreneur in all of us. But don’t expect a saccharin read because it’s far from it. Faced with both the hardships of single motherhood and gender discrimination Combs’s story represents the struggle of balancing personal and work lives in pursuit of our goals.
Refusing to sacrifice her work for love she embodies the resilience and ambition of self-driven women the world over whilst never losing sight of her personal values. Yes, she bent a few rules along the way but who hasn’t as she fearlessly shares with us her dogged determination to overcome financial challenges and achieve the success she desires.
On this level alone she gives us a memoir deserving of our attention but in baring her emotional wounds and vulnerabilities she gives us the authenticity that readers have come to demand. A far cry from the kiss-and-tell memoirs of dubious celebrities Combs’s self-made path to success feels true to life and it’s the raw honesty with which she writes that will strike a chord with so many readers.
Add to this Combs’s Seven Basic Business Lessons and The Lady with Balls proves a highly engaging memoir which leads to much reflection. It is recommended without reservation.