EXCERPT FROM MAKE IT IN AMERICA:

All my life, I’ve heard about the American Dream. In fact, I’m a product of it. My ancestors emigrated from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. When they got to the United States, they struggled to find menial jobs and start families. My grandfather, Louis Needleman, joked about wearing plaid pants made from his sister’s dresses until he went into the Army.

            Later Louis worked as a traveling salesperson, but eventually he and his wife, Tillie, moved to Newport, Vermont near the Canadian border and opened their own business: The American Clothing Co. They did so well that soon they moved to a bigger location in a newly constructed block of buildings. Eventually, Louis was able to buy the whole block, and he also became a director at a local bank.

            Louis became a good citizen, too, sharing what he had and what he’d learned with the people around him. His obituary in the local newspaper read: “He was always interested in the betterment of the community in which he and his family made their home. Many of his kindnesses and thoughtful deeds have not been known as he chose to do good for its sake alone and not for personal praise.” {Newport Daily Express, June 27, 1964}

            Louis Needleman’s success had far exceeded anything his parents had imagined when they landed in the United States, and his life has served as an inspiration to his descendants, including me. It seemed only fitting, then, that I write a book that might help other people achieve their American Dream.