You've Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected

by Cynt Marshall

FINALIST FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • A relentlessly optimistic memoir by one of the most influential Black business leaders in America today, offering hope and practical guidance for navigating life’s most difficult challenges

“Do you want to be lifted up? You have come to the right place.”—Hoda Kotb

Cynt Marshall has spent her entire life beating personal and professional odds while also helping everyone she meets see how they are uniquely equipped to thrive. Through it all, this self-described “people person” never stopped reaching out and built a reputation as an inspiring motivator and mentor in business and beyond.

Marshall grew up in a northern California housing project with a violent father who once broke her nose, but also with a strong, devoted mother who kept her family fed and focused, reminding them, “It’s not where you live, but how you live.” Heeding her mother’s advice, Marshall excelled first at school and then in her professional life, overcoming overt and subtle racism to become, at forty, one of the first Black woman officers at AT&T, while also navigating both grief and joy as she started a family of her own.

All that life experience prepared Marshall for the day when, at fifty-one, she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, just one lymph node from stage 4. Overnight, her life changed, but her commitment to serve others did not.

You’ve Been Chosen offers what Marshall calls “the good, the great, the bad, and the ugly parts” of her journey through both cancer and everything that led up to it. Along the way, she tackles the tough questions we all What will I do with what I have been given? How will I respond to challenges with both grace and grit? Where will this new path take me if I keep moving? And how can I offer something good back to the world as a result?

Cynt Marshall’s deep faith and positivity will inspire and motivate you, and her story will help you see how all your experiences, even the hardest moments, can work together for something good, bringing you to positive places you’d have never experienced otherwise. She shows you how to find your own “voice of power” and encourages you to remember—and believe—that you, too, have been equipped to walk your unique path with purpose. That you, too, have been chosen.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Self Help, Leadership, Audiobook, Business, Biography

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2022

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be attending a conference later this year and Cynt Marshall is a keynote speaker, so I listened to her book, You've Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected, on audiobook. It is narrated by the author, which I love. She is a powerful, dynamic speaker.

When Cynt was 50 years old, her primary care doctor advised her to get a colonoscopy. She delayed it until the day before she turned 51. The colonoscopy did not go well; additional tests showed Stage Three cancer. Cynt was President of AT&T in North Carolina at the time.

Cynt's personal journey describes domestic abuse in her childhood home, multiple miscarriages, racism in the workplace, death, threats at gunpoint, and other challenges. Her faith and her laser-like focus has enabled her to face challenges head on.

Her story is incredibly inspiring. It provides a blueprint for looking at adversity as a blessing.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I won this as a goodreads giveaway. Thank you Ballantine Books, Random House Books, and Penguin Random House.

This book came to me at just the right time. I had another go around with cancer this summer, which is still fresh in my mind. Hopefully this is the author’s only go around. Her attitude was the same as mine, but mine was previous trips on the cancer bus. And that attitude is ,God had a purpose in giving us the disease and he gave up the purpose to use it for good. To help inspire people on this crazy journey that you are not alone. Some of us don’t make it, and some of us do, only to get right back on that bus.

As the book says in it’s subtitle “Thriving Through the Unexpected”, life will be different, and you are not alone.

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this for free at a conference. I LOVED it!!! Cynt has battled many obstacles which has undoubtedly grown her amazing resolve and persistence. Her life and career very much inspires me. Highly recommend if you like business profiles of successful female executives. Quick read—read in a few hours on a plane.

[Tina Sacco-Lorenzini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cynt, I can’t express how much I needed this. You are incredible, and I love you to my core. My lovely coworker watched your keynote speech at HR Tech, and was a recipient of your book. She shared you with our entire team, and my company, Paychex, bought us each your book. I listened on audible, and hearing you share your story firsthand will never leave my memory. I thank you ❤️

[Meredith]

Maddie recommended that I listen to this one! Cynt Marshall seems like such a vibrant leader. I really enjoyed hearing her story. She is so authentic to herself which is very refreshing as well!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book free from a goodreads give away!!

This book was hard for me to set down.

Reading the story of Cynt's cancer journey was very motivational. Cynt stayed as motivated, positive and as active as she could all while trying to keep her family's life as normal as possible.

Going through her journey Cynt also learned that she didn't have to always pack herself so full of work and other things to do.

[Nancy Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. She’s from Richmond and her husband is from Fresno. First black woman that owns a NBA team The Dallas Mavericks. She is the First woman of a lot of things. Graduated from CAL Berkeley. I just love how she leads. We need more Leaders like her!!! She went through a lot in life and pulled through with grit, perseverance and Jesus!

[Elizabeth Fenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cynt is the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks. She has faced so many challenges in her life and I fell in love with her on Good Morning America. 4 stars because I honestly think I just really enjoy listening to people’s stories.

[Ruth Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic memoir of a new heroine I’m watching for in Dallas. This woman has LIVED and faced death, suffering, loss, and many other tragedies; she, however, has lived by unwavering faith in God. Inspiring, strong, and so engaging.

[Jennifer Mullman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story; amazing woman and life; okay writing.

[Chassity Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and the life lessons and messages. She is an amazing business woman and person.

[Ian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good tale. Lots of religious notes, but as a secular reader it didn’t deter me from the story. Inspiring!

[Cheryl Durham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praise the Lord! If you are looking for a read that is forever bargaining with God or asking why you’ve been given the various crosses you bear, this isn’t for you. However, if you are looking to read a faith-based, servant leader describe her trials and never lose her faith (growing up in public housing, watched mom go through domestic abuse, encounter her father’s wrath personally and still win a full scholarship to an area college), a book that reflects the goodness of God and how important it is to walk in the word, a book that attest to a village-which includes Corporate America and suits, rallying around their most prized resource, it’s people, and a book about a strong woman and faithful husband who put the “can” in cancer, suffered four miscarriages, adopted four children and model and live as Lena Horne said “it’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it,” then this book is for you.

Cynt, as she’s called, will carry you on her journey from living to living her best life. The book isn’t preachy. It’s crafted with daily entries while receiving infusions and chemotherapy. It reveals the components of the village and sometimes the intrusiveness that can occur to benefit a friend. Cynt let’s the reader in on the activities and lives of each family member and the importance of allowing others to love on you at your lowest as well as your highest as well as well as you doing the same for others. Five star….thank you Mrs. Cynthia Marshall for this awesome anointed read. Because of the manner in which you wrote about your journey, it was palatable to embrace that when receiving bad news it’s important to know that all sickness is not unto death. Thank you for trusting and calling your mother first when you received the news and for her reminding you that your sickness was for God’s glory.

[Steffie Pickering · Rating 3 out of 5]

It made me unspeakably sad to read that she was dragging herself up stairs post op and leaving a blood trail to continue working WHILE SHE HAD CANCER.

[Patty]

Cynt Marshall, you are an amazing woman of God! I can't say enough about your cancer treatment experiences and all of the stories you share in this beautifully written book. I'm inspired. I'm uplifted. I'm so grateful to the Lord that I saw you on CBS sharing your story with Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson otherwise I might not have known about your book. Your husband and family are awesome as well as the whole village of people who were with you on your journey to cancer-free. I'm also excited to know that Mark Cuban hired you as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks Organization. I know you're doing a terrific job and making all the difference. I have to say also that I gasped when I read the part about David dying unexpectedly of a heart attack. So very sad. How awesome is it that you were there for his wife through her cancer battle? We serve a mighty, awesome, powerful, Good God! Thank you Jesus you are cancer-free and may you continue to do great things based on His calling. I live in Raleigh, NC.

[Cheyna Chaneille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her title is strong, the story that follows comes short. This book is a solid two-stars, no more no less.

When I saw her news segments during her book tour. I anticipated reading this book. She was a high powered executive who happened to be an "American black women" (as she says). I was hoping for the how-to's and how nots of getting to her level in her career. Instead you get a book that is about a workaholic who has major control issues and manages the workplace and her life with a Type A personality. Along the way she will do her fair share of name dropping and letting you know that she makes money but all of this is expected from a top-level exec.

I understand that being an "American black women" at her level took some strength but the book did not touch on it at all. I was not expecting her divulge details from behind the scenes of the companies she worked for but at least help a reader out. She spent more time talking about everything her father had done vs what the companies did wrong and why they called her to fixed it.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued to read this book and learn more about the life of Cynt Marshall, the hugely successful black female CEO of the Mavericks and Sr VP at AT&T. Unfortunately the book was mostly about her fight against colon cancer (finding the CAN in cancer) and less about her business success story

[Jane Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because United Women in Faith chose this book for its Reading Program Leadership category, I was expecting more of a how-to, and this book is more of a memoir, though it contains plenty of how-to lessons. Cynt Marshall is a FORCE, who relentlessly remains positive, finding the good even in the midst of chemotheraphy for Stage 3 colon cancer. Alternating chapters begin with her email messages to her friends, family, and followers. The other chapters fill in the blanks of Cynt's abusive father, her steadfastly Christian mother and grandmother, her marriage to Kenny, her many miscarriages and the short life and death of their sweet "Special K," their decision to adopt and their subsequent family life, her friends, and her rise through the corporate ranks as a black woman (which included being told to change how she wore her hair, her clothing, and even her name!).

Cynt wanted to be a business executive so that she could help people, and she showed excellent leadership traits in getting to know her employees as human beings and learning the jobs each of them did. She was motivated by caring for others, a trait that, by the end of the book had been noticed by Mark Cuban, who called her to be CEO at the Dallas Mavericks to change the culture there as she had in her AT&T position.

During the course of her treatments, she leans on her faith and offers readers several of the Bible verses that strengthened and comforted her. She realizes, and is a bit resentful, that her work will go on without her, and that at the moment, her job was to get well. She continues to do her best for her family, doing what she can to alleviate her children's fears that she was dying, sometimes at great cost to her own energy.

Cynt has a strong sense of God-given purpose and pursues it with faith, passion, and humor, which can serve as an example to readers.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to be inspired by the one and only Cynt Marshall. I first heard about this incredible leader when she became the first Black female CEO in the history of the National Basketball Association in February 2018 here in Dallas for the Mavericks. Fast forward five years, and I'm so thankful that I read her book. Cynt is a wife, mom of four adopted children, former AT&T Executive, colon cancer survivor, and a woman of faith.

Cynt demonstrated her resilience early on in her life with an abusive father and earned a full scholarship at the University of California at Berkeley where she was the first Black cheerleader. Cynt poignantly describes enduring four miscarriages as well as the loss of her daughter, "Special K", who was born four months premature.

There's a wealth of great advice:
- "The most important thing any of us can do is show up."
- "Finding the CAN in cancer"
- "You, too, have stories and experiences to tap into that will help you. You, too, have been equipped for whatever you're facing. You, too, have a choice in how you will respond. You, too, have been chosen."

Thinking about all the challenges that Cynt courageously faced as one who was chosen reminded me of the bible verse in Esther 4:14: "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" I agree - we're all chosen "for such a time as this" and can aspire to live our lives with the positivity of Cynt Marshall.

[Oliver C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Speaker-circuit autobiographies aren't really my go to but was gifted this book and gave it a shot. Cynt Marshall is an incredibly impressive woman and story of enduring poverty, an abusive father, miscarriages & infertility, and stage 3 cancer while building a successful career and family, is inspiring.

The book itself isn't very good. She or probably her ghost writer, recounts all those challenges at a high level with a narrative that has been completely sanitized retroactively, leaving little possibility for insight or true vulnerability.

While I wouldn't read it again, it was a nice reminder to remain always grateful for the bad as much as the good. Imagine the power of a woman who can learn of her daughter's cancer diagnosis and the first thing she says is, "This is for His glory!" What a blessing

[Liza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phew.
She is one AMAZING woman.
I didn’t really know what I was in for when I started this and almost put it down on page one as it starts with her colon cancer diagnosis. Clearly, I didn’t quit the book and am so glad I kept reading. This is so so much more than her 6 month journey through chemo. Her life story is amazing. Her family story is amazing. Her husband is amazing. Her circle of friends is amazing. I am not sure how one woman is able to cram so much in her life but clearly she has with her unwavering faith and her incredible resilience and sources of energy. It was a library borrow but I may go purchase it to have on hand as inspiration when my world (or others’ who I love dearly) feels out of control.

[Larla Bogle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a biased reviewer. I know and work directly with the author’s son and, although I have never met Cynt, I have attended many town hall meets where she shared. I have always admired her leadership and her genuine care for others.
This uplifting book beautifully testifies how God brought beauty from ashes in the life of a Cynt Marshall as she faced abuse, trauma, miscarriages, infant loss, cancer, and prejudices. It chronicles how she and her family trust God in the good and the bad times and how important community is in our times of trouble. I must read for anyone who has someone going through chemo.

[Lori Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Erin Finegold White for introducing us to Cynt by encouraging us to read this memoir. The themes of Faith, friendship, education, ambition and family first are so important and often overlooked when we get busy. Cynt shows us how we can do it all even mixing it up at times. I loved her “you do you” attitude and how she always brought the party. I read this while I had COVID and it made me bounce right back within days. The importance of checkups and listening to our body is something we all need to focus on as women who lead busy lives. Thank you for reminding us Cynt!

[Mark Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marshall is genuine, entertaining, and uplifting. She spends the bulk of the book (which often reads like a novel) on her determination to balance career and family and her struggle with cancer. Continually she draws on strength from God - Marshall's Christianity is *the* major theme of the book - and normally preaching would be a drawback for me, as I'm not religious... but her joy and indomitability are beautiful, even enviable, and I found myself unable to put the book down. Cynt Marshall is a leader among leaders.

[Simone Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational and incredible life story of leadership and strength. Cynt Marshall has great faith that helped her through her battle with cancer. Her story highlights her work ethic, integrity, and love of God. In rooms where she was often the first she always found her footing and excelled. In this book she published letters she wrote in the "cancer clubhouse" as she fought and beat cancer. She believes that everything in her life happened for a reason and that she was indeed chosen for the things that happened to her. So many moments that gave me chills.

[Gail Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot express how much I loved this book. Cynt Marshall tells her story and through scripture, prayer, a strong faith, family and friends she overcomes every obstacle including cancer. Her leadership in AT&T was interesting to me since my grandson just graduated from MTSU with a Business Administration degree and now works for AT&T. This is truly an uplifting book. She and her husband adopted 4 children after 4 miscarriages and a fifth child died shortly after a premature birth. They are truly an inspiration.

[Diana Tyndall · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great outlook of cancer. Cynt was diagnosed with colon cancer that was in her lymph nodes and blood vessels. This was such an inspiring book where she shares about her cancer journey and many other tragic events in her life (multiple lost pregnancies, a rough home life, and being the main bread-winner in her family) Her outlook is so positive, and that is because of her strong faith in God. I really enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it for anybody going through cancer.

[Otis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What an awesomely display of perseverance, determination, hope, faith and love. To be exposed to such a woman of faith is inspiring. Mrs Cynt Marshall written testimony found with this book will take one on an adventurous emotional ride. The transparency and vulnerability revealed with this material was an enormous encouragement to me. I must read. May God our Savior continue to enrich you and the family lives with His blessings.

[Mikaela Rawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved every second of this book. Her writing is very engaging and I really enjoyed how she jumped back and forth from cancer updates to something about her past or childhood. It makes you want to read the book as fast as you can so you can learn more about her upbringing and her miscarriages (which left me BAWLING).

So good and inspiring, especially for someone whose own mother has endured cancer treatments. It was great to hear the perspective of the mom 🫶🏼

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I “met” Cynt Marshall when she spoke at a Microsoft all hands and she was inspiring, talking about how we should consider what in our lives are crystal balls and what are rubber balls (an analogy about what truly matters). I decided to read her memoir; I didn’t realize she was such a resilient person! Through a traumatic upbringing, numerous miscarriages, and difficult cancer, she finds her strength and purposes, and she showcases those here. An affirming read.