Making a Way of No Way is a unique and inspiring success story, narrated by a seasoned, practical and insightful African American man in tones that are at once authentic and philosophical. More than a mere autobiography, this book details the life and experiences of a child born to a working-class Black family on Chicago's West Side during the 1940s. The crucible of his family and Chicago’s South Side Community produced a young man who, against long odds, attended and graduated from an elite university, ultimately earning an MBA in finance.
His career in banking is a testament to his courage and commitment to breaking through racial barriers and rendering life lessons for those who would follow. He has been an inspiring example and role model for his community. As Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank and one of the very few Black senior executives in the country running a major financial institution's corporate banking business, Mr. Grisham was selected to preside over the country's first banking executive to create and run multicultural community banks.
It is also a personal story, involving struggle, pain, loss and renewal, with a good dose of literary culture and a profound love of historical California, where he made many good friends, who continue to influence and support him. In Oakland, he lost Jane, his dedicated wife, dedicated mother and grandmother of his children and grandchildren, and his partner of 50 years, to cancer. In time, he found an inspiring, passionate and brilliant professor and author in Dr Paulina Rosa Van, who is his wife and partner today.
Readers will also appreciate Mr. Grisham's love for literature, and specifically, African American literature, as detailed in the Grisham Collection in DePaur's John T. Richardson Library."
Making a Way Out of No Way is Arnold Grisham's first book, though he is already outlining ideas for his next writing project. He recently became President and CEO of Gateway Bank FSB in Oakland, California. Arnold and wife, Paulina, currently reside in Northern California.