Research Catalog

Walk through fire

Title

Walk through fire / Sheila Johnson, with Lisa Dickey.

Author

Johnson, Sheila, 1949-

Publication

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2023.
©2023

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Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	Sc E 23-1343	Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Additional Authors

Dickey, Lisa

Description

242 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color); 24 cm

Summary

"The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal 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 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 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 scenes, 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 co-owner 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" --

Alternative Title

Walk through fire : A memoir of love, loss, and triumph

Subject

Genre/Form

Autobiographies.
Biographies.

Contents

I'll catch you -- Perpetual motion -- Fist through the wall -- Music, music, music -- Making a BET -- Family -- Going public -- Gaslit -- Prayer path -- Free -- Becoming the salamander -- "That woman" -- Zero to sixty -- Stars and diamonds

Call Number

Sc E 23-1343

ISBN

9781668007136
1668007134

OCLC

1391696169

Author

Johnson, Sheila, 1949- author.

Title

Walk through fire / Sheila Johnson, with Lisa Dickey.

Publisher

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2023.

Copyright Date

Edition

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Local Subject

Black author.

Added Author

Dickey, Lisa, author.

Research Call Number

Sc E 23-1343

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