Jackson Free Press

Are you feeling uninspired? No challenges left? Did you read another depressing statistic about Mississippi? I have a cure for that. Read Polly Dement's "Mississippi Entrepreneurs." The book chronicles the stories of 70 Mississippians from all walks of life who had a vision and, through luck, hard work, and perseverance, created successful enterprises.

"Mississippi needs to realize that it can be done," Dement says. "Mississippians, individually, can go head-to-head with any entrepreneurs in the country."

Dement is a Mississippi ex-pat, living in New Mexico now. She was born in Vicksburg and graduated from Millsaps College before spending many years elsewhere building a career—but never lost sight of her Mississippi connections or roots. While at Millsaps, she took a writing seminar from Eudora Welty that she credits for helping her "learn the power of careful listening and observation of details to tell a good story—powers that helped me get to the heart of how Mississippi entrepreneurs created their enterprises."

Her book, "Mississippi Entrepreneurs," is not a "technical how-to book," she says, but is more about storytelling. It tells the entrepreneurs' stories in their own words or the words of those close to them. Dement says writing the book "was a wonderful chance to get to know Mississippi," as she traveled all over the state to conduct interviews.

Dement lists three common themes among the entrepreneurs she interviewed. "They all had incredible passion, they were creative, and were driven," she says.

The stories are complex and cover all aspects of life and business in Mississippi. From health care to art to social justice to public education, the one common theme is that these are Mississippians tackling something that needed doing.

Dr. John Bower is an example of an entrepreneur who dealt with successive problems improve the lives of many Mississippians. He was involved in developing an artificial kidney program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in the mid-1960s. Each solution uncovered a new issue, but Bower just continued: He created a 10-bed dialysis unit, then founded a nonprofit to put dialysis units in Mississippi's communities. He created his own construction company to retrofit old buildings for kidney care, then created his own water purification company to obtain quality water for dialysis. Now, the Bower Foundation is dedicated to supporting innovative strategies to improve the health of Mississippians.

Polly Dement will sign copies of "Mississippi Entrepreneurs" at 5 p.m. June 3 at Lemuria Books (4465 N. Interstate 55, Suite 202, 601-366-7619). Some of the book's featured entrepreneurs will be present. Visit lemuriabooks.com.