One thing that sticks with you for the rest of your life is getting fired from a job or career. It changes you, your ego, and your sense of self-worth. No one knows that better than Nancy Spencer. She worked as a Vice President of Merchandising for the now extinct Broadway Department Stores for 20 devoted years and loved every second of it until it was taken away in the blink of an eye when they fired her, out of nowhere, for “insubordination”. For a woman whose identity relied on her beloved career, this was devastating, worse than breakup of her first marriage. Even so, Nancy didn’t just accept it. She fought back and sued Broadway – no easy feat – and got a settlement. And that settlement money lit a fire within her – she knew it was time to start her entrepreneurial endeavor. In Pillow Wars: An Insubordinate Woman's Fight to Build an Empire, Nancy Spencer tells her own story about the long, bizarre, and dangerous road she took to start and run her own business. From getting fired to putting out fires to starting a couple of fires, and then surviving an actual, full-blazing, my factory-is-on-fire, we see how with the help of three intelligent women, Nancy becomes a phoenix, rising from the ashes. Pillow Wars is not a traditional business book. It’s more a human-interest story starring a quirky cast of characters. Two first-generation Chinese women and two white women joined together to add their diverse ideas in what would become a thriving enterprise. Their unique superstitions and beliefs added to the out-of-box thinking in running the business. Nancy starts her company out of her garage with a single sewing machine and eventually turns it into a massive decorative pillow empire with a factory in the United States and three large factories in China. But she didn’t do it alone. She had Betty, Jenny and Joy standing with her at the helm, not to mention her supportive husband, Carty. This book explores Nancy’s relationships with all these incredible women, their impressive skill sets, and, most importantly, their loyalty to her company. And it’s a good thing she surrounded herself with a supportive team because not a single step of her journey to success was easy. In fact, Nancy’s business attracted problems and pitfalls like a moth to a flame. Bug-infested pillows, recalls, late deliveries, smarmy business partners, competent competitors, personal health issues, sassy teenage daughters, a dying sister, and a critically ill husband were just a few of her problems. She also had a knack for finding nemeses. The most notorious one was a man who sued her for $50 million and almost sank her business. Though the general tone of her book is upbeat and colloquial, you will find yourself on an emotional roller-coaster as Nancy peals back the curtain (or “window treatments” as they say in retail) to show us the moments where she battles self-doubt, stress, drinking, Type 1 diabetes and even depression. But she buoys the reader with moments that are just downright bizarre – like when she would provide a foot masseuse, bartender, and fortune teller for her customers during New York Market to encourage them to stay longer with her and her team and buy more products. Ultimately though, Pillow Wars is a tale that will leave you marveling at how in just nine years, an “insubordinate” woman was able to go from getting fired to building a business with over $70 million in sales.