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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The setting of this book takes place in the mid-seventies, a time when America was still smoldering from the riots, anger and turmoil of the sixties. Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action became a legal reality and more women and minorities were entering the workforce. Some received advancement in their jobs and the few, who reached top-level positions, often looked around to find themselves “the only one”. The author discovered herself in such a position, during much of her career. She was the “only one” in some of her high school and college classes, in most teaching and consultant positions. An examination of these circumstances prompted the motivation for writing this novel.
When members of the work place are surrounded
by people who look and think like themselves life is much easier. They are more likely to be accepted, trusted
and have a mentor to show them the ropes or help with career advancement. A person who is “the only one” usually experiences difficulty in being truly accepted,
trusted and seldom obtains a helpful mentor.
Someone once said, “it’s lonely at the top”, but when you are the “only one”, it is not only lonely, but often it is very
stressful. People deal with stress
differently. Some fight, some take
flight and some individuals manage stress effectively. Read this exciting novel and find out how
the different characters manage the job stress of being “the only one” in the
world of work.