I Can, I Will & I Did
Lessons on Life, Love, and Leadership
A heartfelt business leader’s memoir, I Can, I Will & I Did is about chasing one’s own aspirations beyond cultural and social expectations.
Samina Bari’s inspiring memoir I Can, I Will & I Did is about overcoming social pressures to forge a career in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Bari, a first-generation American citizen, grew up in a strict Muslim household and attended an all-girls Catholic school. She was a sensitive and observant child who took note of other people’s inconsistent or unfair behaviors. For example, she recalls how her father ordered her to stop coughing while he chain smoked and how her mother criticized her at length, for instance asking of a 98% grade on a test when Bari was six years old: “Where is the other 2%? You are careless.” She was discouraged from taking a part-time summer retail job with the note that it would reflect poorly on her family.
The pressures Bari faced were not just internal to her family, though. She and her family members were also bullied by their Staten Island neighbors because of their differences. While Bari’s Muslim peers seemed resigned to their second-class status, she dreamed of more. She volunteered at her father’s clinic despite being told that girls did not need to work.
The book suggests that while the expectations thrust upon Bari of being perfect and projecting success were burdensome, they also shaped her. Later, having developed a keen sense of what she did and did not want her life to be like, she overcame cultural restrictions to attain success in an industry dominated by men. She managed the launch of multibillion-dollar medicines and raised market capitalization by billions of dollars while supporting women in the workplace. In the process, she coped with personal challenges, including conflicts with her mother, infertility, miscarriages, and grief over the losses of her closest friend and her husband.
A memoir with a mission, the book seeks to inspire others to follow Bari’s path, and to “not let anyone stop you from creating the life of your dreams.” Its prose is conversational, bringing scenes to life with immersive descriptions, as of the cutthroat competition for real estate in Manhattan and of the headiness of being young in the city. Satisfaction is attained after each recorded success, as when Bari secured one-on-one time with a company’s CEO. Rousing notes are made throughout regarding the power of resilience, love, and grit, all supported by Bari’s example, with the book celebrating the decisions she made and the life and family she chose.
A stirring memoir that leads by example, I Can, I Will & I Did is about overcoming social constraints, persisting, and realizing one’s dreams.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
