Faith Against the Odds: A Memoir of My Journey from Mississippi to the Ivy Paperback – 27 January 2014

Few professors write their life stories and even fewer university leaders. But Gladys January Willis has a unique story to tell starting with her family name and her birth on a day that comes only once every four years. "Faith Against the Odds: A Memoir of My Journey" literally kept me on the edge of my chair as I read page by page, paragraph by paragraph, word for word, the story of a young African American girl who came of age in Mississippi when racial segregation made it such a challenge to navigate everyday life. Her passages to womanhood offer up the story of loving family members and how they made her upbringing as normal as possible while yet providing the young Gladys with the wherewithal to capture a grander vision for herself and her education and career -- and how she made it happen. Her journey as a Black female pioneer in the realm of higher education took her far beyond the Deep South.After graduating with honors from Jackson State College she blazed new paths into the Ivy League where she earned her doctorate in English Literature from Princeton University. Yet on a parallel track she followed her calling to ordained Christian ministry, while serving successfully as a professor and dean in the oldest historically Black university in the Western hemisphere. Hence, the appropriateness of her book title, "Faith Against the Odds" as she found herself creating a rare and powerful vocational synthesis. And yes, the odds were lined up against her -- both in academe and in religion. Her beautiful, often poetic language pulls the reader into her story as though present with her. This amazing account allows the reader to experience first-hand a poignant period in American history most pf us have only heard about. It is also an insider's account of day to day existence and challenges inside of a historically Black university.

I immensely enjoyed reading Dr. Gladys January Willis' book. The writing was exceptional. The reader was vividly carried through a stirring journey of incidents in her life that encompassed the horrors of social injustice pertaining to race, education, gender, and religion. She clearly dismantled for herself, a culture of poverty argument concerning African Americans' lack of success, wherein they are stereotyped as having no motivation, as well as a lack of drive and perseverance. Her story that met all my expectations of a good memoir, supported research findings that the qualities of positive relationships and support fostered by teachers, professors, and parents, can help youth and adults, as well, reach educational goals far beyond high school. It is an excellent book that demonstrates success is not out of anyone's reach.

A tremendous story of faith while traveling the road of academia, starting in the deep South (Jackson State University. The author relates her graduate experiences at Princeton University and her ascendance to the role of department chair to dean at the prestigious Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.