Set in working-class, Irish-American Boston of the 1950s-1960s, the author survives emotional and physical deprivation at the hands of the people closest to her, as well as herself, to take control of her life and succeed, using hard work, undaunted intelligence and persistence.
Tells the gripping tale of how Anne McTiernan used hard work, undaunted intelligence, and persistence to turn the adversity she encountered as a child into a strength and set of skills that would later help her meet the demands of her career.