An entrepreneur and philanthropist shares his rags-to-riches story in this gritty debut memoir.

In the book’s opening chapter, author Bazemore awakens in a panic inside his $10 million Hollywood Hills estate following a PTSD–induced nightmare. Despite having obtained the American Dream—palatial views of Los Angeles, Bentleys, multiple homes—he couldn’t shake the trauma of his childhood. In describing the origins of his scars, he recounts a life of violence. Taught by his cousin how to fight at the age of four, the author recalls multiple near-death altercations, from taking a shard of glass to his forehead to being stabbed in the back twice in a street fight. As a Black kid from a poor family, the author recalls his childhood struggles in Norristown, Pennsylvania, from the effects of systemic racism to the failures of “useless” father figures in his life. He was so desperate for approval from his step-father, “JB,” that he took pride in his role as a “child bartender,” who’d provide heavy pours. The book’s second half transitions to Bazemore’s personal success story, growing a real estate empire in Manayunk, a neighborhood in Philadelphia, before branching out as an angel investor in perfume, cyber security, storage facilities, and other endeavors. The book emphasizes Bazemore’s titular resilience and business prowess and revels in his love for his wife, Teresa Bryce Bazemore (a California-based banking CEO who writes the book’s foreword). His intimate writing style lays bare a troubled past and trauma-induced anxiety that continues to plague his life: “I wear my heart on my sleeve,” he writes, “so what you see, is what you get.” The book’s conversational and occasionally expletive-laden writing style grabs readers from page one as they track Bazemore’s trajectory from “little black kid from Norristown who fought his way out of poverty” to multimillionaire. Its engaging story is accompanied by a thoughtful, full-color photograph gallery of family snapshots.

A powerful story of the persistence of childhood trauma despite personal triumph.