{"product_id":"9781101568866","title":"Can't Is Not an Option: My American Story","description":"\u003cb\u003e A rising star in the Republican Party shares her inspirational  memoir  of family, hope, and the power of the  American Dream. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eDecades before their daughter surprised the nation by becoming  governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley's parents had a dream. Ajit and  Raj Randhawa were well-educated, well-off Sikhs in the Punjab region of  India. But despite their high social status, the Randhawas wanted more  for their family-the opportunities that only America could offer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo they left behind all they had known and settled in Bamberg, South  Carolina (population: 2,500). As the first Indian family in a small  Southern town in the early 1970s, the Randhawas faced ignorance,  prejudice, and sometimes blatant hostility. Nikki remembers stopping at a  roadside produce stand with her father, who always wore his traditional  Sikh turban. Within minutes, two police cars pulled to make sure they  weren't thieves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the Randhawas taught their children that they should never think  of themselves as victims. They stressed that if you work hard and stay  true to yourself, you can overcome any obstacle. The key is believing  that can't is not an option.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe family struggled to make ends meet while starting a clothing  business in their living room, eventually growing it into a multimillion- dollar success. At age twelve, Nikki started to do the bookkeeping and  taxes after school. After graduating from college and entering the  business world, she watched business owners like her parents battle  government bureaucracy and overregulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer frustration inspired her to get into politics and run for the  state legislature. That first campaign, against an entrenched incumbent,  led to racial and religious slurs and threats-but Haley, like her  parents, refused to back down. She won on a promise to fight for reform,  lean budgets, and government accountability, which is exactly what she  did-much to the dismay of South Carolina's old guard politicians.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoon she had a reputation as a conservative leader who could get  things done. In the same state where her family was once ridiculed, she  inspired a diverse grassroots following. In November 2010 she was elected  South Carolina's first female governor and first nonwhite governor, and  only the second Indian American governor in the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHaley's story, as told firsthand in this inspiring memoir, is a  testament to the power of determination, faith, and family. And it's  proof that the American Dream is still strong and true in the twenty- first century.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47120441016560,"sku":"9781101568866","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781101568866_p0.jpg?v=1763688439","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781101568866","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}