The day after Lt. Colonel Barry Bridger retired from a distinguished military career in 1984, he put on a suit and went to work for a financial services company.

Fortuitously, his instructor in those classes was Jim Petersen, PhD, a trainer and manager in the investment and financial services industry who became a retired Captain in the US Naval Reserves.

As the two veterans forged a close personal and professional relationship, Petersen was intrigued and inspired to hear about Bridger's experience as an orphan until age six and, years later, as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.

Petersen's great admiration for Colonel Bridger's resilience and optimism encouraged him to write this book as a source of inspiration for many.