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Get Your Own Coffee: Underestimated, Overlooked, and Now The Boss
Suzanne Hopgood was eleven when she got her first real job bussing tables at her parents’ hotel in New Hampshire. By seventeen, she was running the place. That’s when a chef threw a knife that barely missed her head because she’d forgotten to include turkey on the menu. It wouldn’t be the last time she had to duck and weave in her career.
In Get Your Own Coffee, Hopgood takes readers through her journey from that small-town beginning to chairing multiple corporate boards, including a NYSE company during what became known as Director Magazine’s article, “Board from Hell.” Along the way, she shows how she navigated a business world where the rules for women weren’t just different—they were kept secret until you broke them.
When her first boss told her, “You will always be underestimated. Use it to your advantage,” she couldn’t have known how valuable that advice would become. She’s had a boss grab her, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her into a business meeting. She’s been fired for refusing a boss’s late-night advances at her condo. She’s been fired for “insubordination.” She’s watched male colleagues take credit for her ideas while ignoring her voice at the table.
But she also became Chair/CEO after the proxy contest that The Wall Street Journal called “The Shot Heard Round the World,” fired executives who thought she didn’t have the authority, and slammed her files on the table before walking out of negotiations—only to have the deal she wanted waiting when she returned.
Between the corporate battles, Hopgood shares the joy she found with her husband Frank during their forty years together, biking through Southeast Asia, navigating the streets of Moscow and São Paulo, and finding laughter even in his final days.
She learned that getting ahead doesn’t mean playing by other people’s rules. Sometimes, you have to create your own—and sometimes, you just have to be bold enough to take a stand.
In Get Your Own Coffee, Hopgood takes readers through her journey from that small-town beginning to chairing multiple corporate boards, including a NYSE company during what became known as Director Magazine’s article, “Board from Hell.” Along the way, she shows how she navigated a business world where the rules for women weren’t just different—they were kept secret until you broke them.
When her first boss told her, “You will always be underestimated. Use it to your advantage,” she couldn’t have known how valuable that advice would become. She’s had a boss grab her, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her into a business meeting. She’s been fired for refusing a boss’s late-night advances at her condo. She’s been fired for “insubordination.” She’s watched male colleagues take credit for her ideas while ignoring her voice at the table.
But she also became Chair/CEO after the proxy contest that The Wall Street Journal called “The Shot Heard Round the World,” fired executives who thought she didn’t have the authority, and slammed her files on the table before walking out of negotiations—only to have the deal she wanted waiting when she returned.
Between the corporate battles, Hopgood shares the joy she found with her husband Frank during their forty years together, biking through Southeast Asia, navigating the streets of Moscow and São Paulo, and finding laughter even in his final days.
She learned that getting ahead doesn’t mean playing by other people’s rules. Sometimes, you have to create your own—and sometimes, you just have to be bold enough to take a stand.
- GenresSelf HelpNonfiction
165 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 21, 2025
28 people are currently reading
1798 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 6, 2026
Suzanne Hopgood’s Get Your Own Coffee is a tour de force, a memoir that reads like a strategic playbook wrapped in a gripping, deeply human story. It is at once a searing exposé of the “secret rules” women have faced in business, a thrilling chronicle of boardroom battles, and a poignant love story. Hopgood doesn’t just share her journey; she forges a weapon of wisdom and defiant confidence for anyone who has ever been underestimated.
The narrative voice is immediate, sharp, and captivating from the first page, opening with the unforgettable image of a chef’s knife thrown at her teenage head. This sets the tone for a career defined by navigating hostility with unshakable grit. Hopgood’s anecdotes of blatant sexism, from being carried into a meeting to being fired for refusing advances, are recounted not with self-pity, but with a clear-eyed analysis of the entrenched systems she had to dismantle. Her transformation from a target of these abuses to the Chair/CEO who fires arrogant executives and wins high-stakes proxy fights is nothing short of exhilarating.
The book’s brilliance lies in its balance. Alongside the corporate warfare, Hopgood weaves the beautiful, decades-long love story with her husband Frank, whose unwavering support provided her sanctuary. This duality makes her triumph not just a professional victory, but a holistic testament to building a full and meaningful life on one’s own terms.
Ultimately, Get Your Own Coffee is a manifesto on leveraging underestimation as a strategic advantage. It is packed with hard-won lessons on when to adapt, when to negotiate, and when to slam your files on the table and walk out. Hopgood’s journey from the daughter running a hotel to a titan chairing major boards is a masterclass in audacious leadership. This book is essential reading not only for women in business but for anyone who needs a potent reminder that the greatest power often comes from proving everyone wrong. Inspiring, unforgettable, and powerfully transformative.
The narrative voice is immediate, sharp, and captivating from the first page, opening with the unforgettable image of a chef’s knife thrown at her teenage head. This sets the tone for a career defined by navigating hostility with unshakable grit. Hopgood’s anecdotes of blatant sexism, from being carried into a meeting to being fired for refusing advances, are recounted not with self-pity, but with a clear-eyed analysis of the entrenched systems she had to dismantle. Her transformation from a target of these abuses to the Chair/CEO who fires arrogant executives and wins high-stakes proxy fights is nothing short of exhilarating.
The book’s brilliance lies in its balance. Alongside the corporate warfare, Hopgood weaves the beautiful, decades-long love story with her husband Frank, whose unwavering support provided her sanctuary. This duality makes her triumph not just a professional victory, but a holistic testament to building a full and meaningful life on one’s own terms.
Ultimately, Get Your Own Coffee is a manifesto on leveraging underestimation as a strategic advantage. It is packed with hard-won lessons on when to adapt, when to negotiate, and when to slam your files on the table and walk out. Hopgood’s journey from the daughter running a hotel to a titan chairing major boards is a masterclass in audacious leadership. This book is essential reading not only for women in business but for anyone who needs a potent reminder that the greatest power often comes from proving everyone wrong. Inspiring, unforgettable, and powerfully transformative.
December 18, 2025
Get Your Own Coffee is a powerful, candid, and unapologetically honest memoir about ambition, resilience, and learning to lead in a world that never intended to make room for you.
Suzanne Hopgood’s journey from bussing tables at her parents’ hotel to chairing corporate boards at the highest level is told with clarity, grit, and hard-earned confidence. What makes this book especially compelling is its refusal to soften the truth. The obstacles she faced weren’t abstract or subtle; they were personal, professional, and often shocking. Yet the story never slips into bitterness. Instead, it focuses on agency on learning when to push back, when to walk away, and when to take the authority you’ve earned.
The writing balances corporate battle stories with moments of warmth and humanity, particularly in the reflections on her marriage and life beyond the boardroom. These quieter passages add depth and perspective, reminding the reader that success is not only about winning fights, but about choosing what and who matters most.
Get Your Own Coffee is an absorbing read for anyone interested in leadership, women’s professional experiences, and stories that don’t rely on platitudes. It’s direct, motivating, and grounded in lived reality a memoir that challenges and empowers in equal measure.
Suzanne Hopgood’s journey from bussing tables at her parents’ hotel to chairing corporate boards at the highest level is told with clarity, grit, and hard-earned confidence. What makes this book especially compelling is its refusal to soften the truth. The obstacles she faced weren’t abstract or subtle; they were personal, professional, and often shocking. Yet the story never slips into bitterness. Instead, it focuses on agency on learning when to push back, when to walk away, and when to take the authority you’ve earned.
The writing balances corporate battle stories with moments of warmth and humanity, particularly in the reflections on her marriage and life beyond the boardroom. These quieter passages add depth and perspective, reminding the reader that success is not only about winning fights, but about choosing what and who matters most.
Get Your Own Coffee is an absorbing read for anyone interested in leadership, women’s professional experiences, and stories that don’t rely on platitudes. It’s direct, motivating, and grounded in lived reality a memoir that challenges and empowers in equal measure.
January 4, 2026
This book was a really encouraging read, especially for women who have ever felt underestimated or overlooked in their work or personal lives. Get Your Own Coffee focuses a lot on confidence, growth, and learning how to step into leadership without waiting for validation from others.
Suzanne Hopgood’s writing feels supportive and relatable, not preachy. The tone is more like someone reminding you of things you already know deep down, but maybe needed to hear again. I appreciated that the message wasn’t about becoming someone else to succeed, but about owning your voice, your experience, and your worth.
The themes of resilience and self-advocacy stood out the most to me. This would be a great read for anyone navigating career changes, leadership roles, or a season where they’re learning to trust themselves more.
Overall, this was an empowering and thoughtful book, and I’m glad I had the chance to read it as an ARC.
Suzanne Hopgood’s writing feels supportive and relatable, not preachy. The tone is more like someone reminding you of things you already know deep down, but maybe needed to hear again. I appreciated that the message wasn’t about becoming someone else to succeed, but about owning your voice, your experience, and your worth.
The themes of resilience and self-advocacy stood out the most to me. This would be a great read for anyone navigating career changes, leadership roles, or a season where they’re learning to trust themselves more.
Overall, this was an empowering and thoughtful book, and I’m glad I had the chance to read it as an ARC.
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December 1, 2025Get Your Own Coffee is a conversational memoir, with interesting stories here about what it was like to move through corporate spaces as a woman who refused to back down. Suzanne Hopgood has had an eventful career, and some of her experiences are surprising, frustrating, and honestly worth reading for anyone thinking about leadership and equity in the workplace today. I was particularly drawn to this book for the title, as a former assistant who has spent a lot of time getting coffee.
Thank you to Advantage Books and NetGalley for the advance copy!
Thank you to Advantage Books and NetGalley for the advance copy!
December 13, 2025
My biggest take away from this was keep records. When management is doing something you know could come back and bite you. Keep evidence! I enjoyed reading through Suzanne’s journey. I have won several of these business success stories and it has been interesting to see the difference between the males journey vs the females. If you are interested in the authors personal story or reading about women in corporate business you should try this book.
November 22, 2025
Great advise and informative journey in the workplace for women today. This was a Goodreads giveaway winner.
December 26, 2025
Interesting read
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews