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Title details for Walk Through Fire by Sheila Johnson - Available

Walk Through Fire

A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph

by Sheila Johnson
ebook
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The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal, "highly readable" (Kirkus Reviews) journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life.
From humble beginnings as a schoolgirl and a young violinist in Maywood, Illinois, Sheila Johnson rose to become one of the most accomplished businesswomen in America. A cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, she became an entrepreneur and philanthropist at the highest levels.

But that success came at a painful personal cost.

Sheila grew up in a middle-class family that encouraged her love of the arts and music. But her idyllic childhood ended at age sixteen when her beloved father announced that he was leaving for another woman, an act that shattered her mother and destroyed Sheila's trust. She vowed she'd never be in her mother's position—dependent on a man for her sense of self-worth and for financial security. Yet when she was barely out of her teens, Sheila married a man who would take her right down that same unfortunate path.

Filled with sharply drawn, emotionally powerful senses, Walk Through Fire traces the hardships Sheila faced in her marriage and her professional life. Despite her skills as a violinist and music teacher, as well as her obvious entrepreneurial talent, she had to fight to overcome self-doubt and fears of failure. Sheila vividly details her struggles, including battling institutional racism, losing a child, suffering emotional abuse in her thirty-three-year marriage, and plunging into a deep depression with her divorce. And yet, out of that pain came renewed purpose and meaning. In the third act of her life, Sheila Johnson has not only made her mark as the founder of Salamander Hotels & Resorts and the only Black female coowner of three professional sports teams, she has also, finally, found true love.

Walk Through Fire is a uniquely American success story. And it is the deeply personal portrait of one woman who, despite heartache and obstacles, finally found herself and her place in the world.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 19, 2023

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781668007150

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781668007150
      • File size: 73681 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      July 15, 2023
      An entrepreneur and philanthropist tells the story of how she fought sexism and racism to become America's first Black female billionaire. In 1965, Johnson learned how unforgiving society could be to women when her family suddenly collapsed. At the time, divorce laws did not obligate her philandering father to offer financial support, and her accountant mother--who suffered a nervous breakdown after the split--could not get a loan or credit card without her husband's signature. Johnson fought back by excelling in school and working multiple jobs to help the family. A music scholarship to the University of Illinois freed her to pursue dreams of a career in the arts. However, university life also brought her into contact with Bob, the husband-to-be who would help shape her life, for better and often for worse, over more than 30 years. Jealous and sometimes cruel, Bob developed an interest in media that Johnson tirelessly supported through successful arts ventures like Youth Strings in Action. In 1980, the pair founded Black Entertainment Television, yet the more she helped and supported Bob, the harsher he became. His disregard for her emerged with later revelations that he was having affairs with female BET executives like company president Debra Lee. An eventual divorce exacerbated the author's lifelong feelings of being "unloved" and "never good enough." Despite earning billionaire status with the 2000 sale of BET to Viacom, Johnson still faced racism along her new path as hospitality industry entrepreneur and distinguished patron of the arts. Yet the strength and perseverance she forged during the "toxic part of my life" became the foundations on which she built hard-won happiness. This highly readable book will appeal not only to BET fans, but to all women seeking entrepreneurial fulfillment in a male-dominated world. A warmly candid memoir from a successful business icon.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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