Aurora James, Creative Director and Founder of luxury accessories brand Brother Vellies and founder of the non-profit advocacy organization, Fifteen Percent Pledge, has long worked to make the global economy a more equitable place for historically excluded groups. Her first book, Wildflower, is an extraordinary memoir of struggle and perseverance that offers new ways of envisioning economic equality for everyone.

James’s story is not a “success story.” Or at least, it shouldn’t be told that way. Having dropped out of high school, struggled with body image, and dabbled in street racing, her eventual arrest might have been her rock...