The producer and writer of the CBS hit series "I Heart Abishola" tells the story of growing up as the child of Nigerian immigrants in London and her career as a stand-up comic and eventual Hollywood success.

From birth, Yashere carried a birthmark on her neck: a sign to her family that she was her grandmother's chosen heir and would fulfill Patience's dreams of learning to speak perfect English, live unfettered by men or children, work a man's job, and travel the world with a free spirit. Growing up as a child of Nigerian immigrants in working-class London, she become the first female engineer with the UK branch of Otis, the largest elevator company in the world. Going through a baptism of fire from her racist and sexist coworkers, she eventually left engineering to become one of the top stand-up comics in the UK, before moving to the US. Here Yashere reveals how her unconventional upbringing became the foundation of her successful career. -- adapted from jacket