Unwilling to let her past define her, Dr. Gail Finney has carved an impressive, successful career—and life—for herself. In this emotional and inspirational memoir, she tells her remarkable story. Learn how she ascended from the roach motel to the ivory tower.

In a word, Dr. Gail Finney could be described as resilient. Her childhood was turbulent. She and her family lived below the poverty line, and before she was 18 years old, Gail moved 20 times. It was difficult, attending new schools and trying to make friends. On the home front, Gail watched her divorced parents and sisters struggle with alcoholism, and a close family friend—someone Gail had viewed as an uncle—molested her. Tragically, when she was only 20 years old, her mother and half-brother died in a murder-suicide by her mother’s hands. The life she’d known was ripped away, and she was forced to rebuild.

However, Gail didn’t let her past stand in her way. Instead, she found solace and hope in the world of academia. During her academic career, Gail spent considerable time in Germany, witnessing its reconstruction post-World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall. These trips cemented her love for German culture and literature. She excelled academically, and at Princeton University, she graduated summa cum laude. Afterwards, she received her doctorate from UC Berkeley. Until her retirement, she worked as a professor of comparative literature and German at UC Davis. Over the course of her tenure, she won many awards, and she wrote or edited eight books and 45 articles.