STRENGTH AND DETERMINATION are needed to defy expectations and challenge the status quo. Within these pages, ten women share their compelling personal stories of how they defied expectations society placed on them by shifting their thoughts to break boundaries and build a better life for themselves. They reveal how, with tenacity and resolve, they overcame perceived or implied limitations by making tough decisions and taking action, thus changing their circumstances, creating a new direction, a new outcome.

Some of these stories are not easy to read, since they contain details and experiences that none of us want to experience first-hand. But they are told with the hope that they will challenge our perception of what is possible and encourage us to take action.