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Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be
The powerful memoir of a female African American advertising executive's unprecedented, unlikely success, which began in the Mad Men era.

“When you get dealt a tough hand, you might choose to fold or you might decide to hold. If you’re Valerie Graves, you reshuffle the whole damn deck . . . Graves’s can’t-stop-won’t-stop energy offers a jump start toward meeting objectives and renews hope. Pressure Makes Diamonds is about more than overcoming.” —Essence Magazine

This is the unflinching memoir of a female African American advertising executive’s unprecedented and unlikely success, which began in the Mad Men era. It follows her journey from the projects of Motown-era Michigan to the skyscrapers of Madison Avenue and beyond. With marches, riots, and demonstrations as the backdrop, and rock ’n’ roll as a soundtrack, this book accompanies Graves as she traverses the seismically shifting terrain of 1960s and ’70s America on her quest to “be somebody.”

In the ’80s and ’90s, as Graves makes her ascent to the East Coast heights of the white male–dominated advertising world, she turns familiarity with harsh realities like racism and sexism into robust insights that deeply connect with African American consumers. During the golden era of black advertising, she becomes an undisputed “somebody.” Soon, though, she learns that money, success, a good marriage, and connections that reach all the way to the White House cannot entirely insulate her against the social ills that threaten to crush black Americans.

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Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be
The powerful memoir of a female African American advertising executive's unprecedented, unlikely success, which began in the Mad Men era.

“When you get dealt a tough hand, you might choose to fold or you might decide to hold. If you’re Valerie Graves, you reshuffle the whole damn deck . . . Graves’s can’t-stop-won’t-stop energy offers a jump start toward meeting objectives and renews hope. Pressure Makes Diamonds is about more than overcoming.” —Essence Magazine

This is the unflinching memoir of a female African American advertising executive’s unprecedented and unlikely success, which began in the Mad Men era. It follows her journey from the projects of Motown-era Michigan to the skyscrapers of Madison Avenue and beyond. With marches, riots, and demonstrations as the backdrop, and rock ’n’ roll as a soundtrack, this book accompanies Graves as she traverses the seismically shifting terrain of 1960s and ’70s America on her quest to “be somebody.”

In the ’80s and ’90s, as Graves makes her ascent to the East Coast heights of the white male–dominated advertising world, she turns familiarity with harsh realities like racism and sexism into robust insights that deeply connect with African American consumers. During the golden era of black advertising, she becomes an undisputed “somebody.” Soon, though, she learns that money, success, a good marriage, and connections that reach all the way to the White House cannot entirely insulate her against the social ills that threaten to crush black Americans.

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Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be

Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be

by Valerie Graves
Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be
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Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be

Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I Pretended to Be

by Valerie Graves

Overview

The powerful memoir of a female African American advertising executive's unprecedented, unlikely success, which began in the Mad Men era.

“When you get dealt a tough hand, you might choose to fold or you might decide to hold. If you’re Valerie Graves, you reshuffle the whole damn deck . . . Graves’s can’t-stop-won’t-stop energy offers a jump start toward meeting objectives and renews hope. Pressure Makes Diamonds is about more than overcoming.” —Essence Magazine

This is the unflinching memoir of a female African American advertising executive’s unprecedented and unlikely success, which began in the Mad Men era. It follows her journey from the projects of Motown-era Michigan to the skyscrapers of Madison Avenue and beyond. With marches, riots, and demonstrations as the backdrop, and rock ’n’ roll as a soundtrack, this book accompanies Graves as she traverses the seismically shifting terrain of 1960s and ’70s America on her quest to “be somebody.”

In the ’80s and ’90s, as Graves makes her ascent to the East Coast heights of the white male–dominated advertising world, she turns familiarity with harsh realities like racism and sexism into robust insights that deeply connect with African American consumers. During the golden era of black advertising, she becomes an undisputed “somebody.” Soon, though, she learns that money, success, a good marriage, and connections that reach all the way to the White House cannot entirely insulate her against the social ills that threaten to crush black Americans.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781617754937
Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication date: 11/01/2016
Pages: 296
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

VALERIE GRAVES, whom Advertising Age magazine named one of the “100 Best and Brightest” in the entire industry, is a nationally recognized creative director of such Fortune 500 accounts as Ford, General Motors, AT&T, Burger King, General Foods, and Pepsi. A former teenage parent from the factory town of Pontiac, Michigan, Graves broke barriers in advertising as one of the first Black copywriters at BBDO, Kenyon & Eckhardt, and JWT. She went on to an award-winning career as chief creative officer at the UniWorld and Vigilante/Leo Burnett agencies, senior vice president of creative services at iconic Motown Records, and creative consultant to President Bill Clinton. In 2007, recognizing Graves’s stellar career and public service via the Advertising Council and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, industry coalition ADCOLOR granted her the title of “Legend.” She resides in New York City. Pressure Makes Diamonds is her memoir. Visit her website: ValerieGravesBook.com.
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Related Subjects

Biography
Women's Biography
Women's Biography - General & Miscellaneous
Biography
Women's Biography
Women's Biography - General & Miscellaneous

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