The author grew up in Manhattan, the daughter of real estate investors who had an eclectic circle of friends, including doctors, writers, artists and gamblers. She met Eleanor Roosevelt at a Democratic fundraiser at her uncle's house and grew up in the penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side where George Gershwin and his son lived in the 1930s. In her late teens, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and struggled with the disease for 40 years until an effective treatment was found. Her message is that anything is possible, no matter the obstacles. Her hope inspires everyone around her.