You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected

Marshall debuts with a heartwarming spiritual memoir about her battle with cancer and navigating the corporate world as a Black woman. She describes how her mother pushed the idea that education and church were “paths out of the projects,” leading Marshall to commit to her schoolwork and earn a full-ride scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. Following college graduation, she rose from a shift supervisor at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph to eventually become the president of AT&T North Carolina, though her ascent was marked by racist comments about how she should look and dress, including a supervisor who told Marshall to get rid of her braids because they were too “ethnic.” The author discusses getting diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in December 2010, and how her mother proclaimed the disease was “for His glory” because Marshall’s high-profile job would allow her to model “faith in action” as she fought the illness. After six months of chemotherapy she was in remission, and she later became the first Black woman CEO of an NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks. Marshall’s love for her family and God permeate this work, and her optimistic account of beating cancer and rising through the corporate world will satisfy those looking for a feel-good tale. Christians will be inspired. (Sept.)