Linda E. Rawlings

Observe possibilities.
Entangle possibilities.
Create possibilities.

Throw spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks.

Ever wonder what it takes to succeed?

Improbable Possibilities by Linda Rawlings is a captivating memoir that weaves together the untold stories of an extraordinary woman’s entrepreneurial journey.

Rawlings, best known as the co-creator of Otis Spunkmeyer, Inc., takes readers on a roller-coaster ride through the unexpected twists and turns of her career.

From the trading floors of Wall Street to founding multiple businesses, including a manufacturing company for Otis Spunkmeyer ovens, a unique airline promoting the brand’s cookies, and even a dance company, Rawlings’ journey is as unpredictable as it is inspiring.

This is a book about more than just business. It’s about resilience, creativity, and the courage to pursue multiple passions, even when they don’t always align. Rawlings recounts her experiences with grace and humor, sharing not only the highs but also the challenges of navigating three marriages, business failures, and triumphs.

For readers who enjoy memoirs based on true stories, Improbable Possibilities is an unflinching look at what it takes to succeed in business while staying true to your personal and professional goals.

It’s a book about making bold decisions, embracing change, and finding the possibilities that lie beyond the expected. A must-read for anyone interested in entrepreneurial spirit, life’s unpredictability, and the art of transformation.

Discover the untold stories behind entrepreneurial success.

IMPROBABLE POSSIBILITIES IS AVAILABLE AT THESE RETAILERS

Available in:
PAPERBACK, HARD COVER, LARGE PRINT EDITION, E-BOOK, AND AUDIOBOOK

The Press

“Rawlings, who created the California-based Otis Spunkmeyer baked goods company with her husband, Ken, in the 1970s, presents the stories she’s accumulated over decades of dealing with everybody from shipping to sheet metal companies to celebrities. The author, who describes herself as a baby boomer with an old soul, opens with an account of her youth in Connecticut, and in a series of chapters filled with quotes from rock music, she charts her own growth in the industry from rather modest beginnings.
There’s also a good deal of storytelling ability; those characters entertainingly fill these pages.
A LIVELY, COLORFUL MEMOIR OF CORPORATE AND PERSONAL GROWTH.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS

“In Improbable Possibilities, Linda E. Rawlings recounts a life directed by her instinct to act when an unlikely opening appears. Her departure from Connecticut for San Francisco in 1977 begins a pattern that eventually places her at Otis Spunkmeyer, where she becomes president as the cookie company develops into a national business. Rawlings understands these turns through a personal practice she calls “throwing spaghetti at the wall,” meaning that possibility only becomes knowable once someone tests it. As her life moves far beyond California, that practice begins to change. Persistence alone no longer answers what she wants from living. Rawlings gradually comes to see home as an inner state, while possibility becomes the act of participating fully enough to discover what may eventually become real.

Linda E. Rawlings' Improbable Possibilities is so inspiring, written in a conversational voice that feels like sitting across from someone just sharing their story. Most impressive to me is how much Rawlings accomplished as a woman in executive circles that were overwhelmingly male, with her business career forming part of an energetic creative life. As a reader who is a bit older, Rawlings makes reinvention feel possible at any age, coming through when she reunites older choreographers to create New Shoes, Old Souls in San Francisco. Rawlings has the same gift for showing how an ordinary invitation can reconnect someone with a familiar part of herself, proven in Hong Kong when a hotel employee draws her onto the Grand Lounge dance floor among businessmen. Rawlings’ candid self-reflection gives the memoir its unmistakable character, and for readers who enjoy memoirs about an unconventional life, this is it. Very highly recommended.”
Asher SyedFIVE STARS - Readers’ Favorite