迈克尔•盖茨•吉尔生于康乃狄克州，为《纽约客》杂志知名作家布兰登•基尔（Brendan Gill）之子。耶鲁大学毕业后，进入华特汤普森广告公司工作二十年之久，并晋升为创意总监、副总裁，最后竟遭裁员解职。之后他创业不成，又陷入家庭、经济和健康的多重威胁,在六十几岁的年纪陷入人生谷底。在偶然的机会下，他获得了星巴克店员的工作，而得以进入这深具魅力的国际性企业，一探其运作奥秘与文化，而他也在这里重新学习人生的功课、感受温暖坚实的情谊，并且将这段戏剧化的遭遇写成本书，与读者分享。目前他居住在纽约，每天都走路到离家不远的星巴克咖啡店上班，而且目前还没有任何退休计划，要继续投入这个他认为一生中最精彩、最美好的工作。

A candid, moving and inspirational memoir about a high-flying business man who is forced to re-evaluate his life and values when he suddenly loses everything and goes to work in Starbucks. Michael Gill had it made. He was educated, wealthy and well-connected. He had a creative and lucrative advertising job, which he loved and which he was good at, and a model family and home life. Then he loses it all. He is fired by a young exec whom he had mentored. He has an extramarital affair that destroys his family and results in a newborn son. Then he is diagnosed with brain cancer. He has no insurance, no income. One day he wanders into Starbucks and by chance signs up for a job interview. His would-be boss is a young black woman who gives him a job, and sets about training him and mentoring him. What follows is an inspirational eye-opener as Gill experiences a whole new world compared to his former life -- with people from completely different ethnic and social backgrounds. 'How Starbucks Saved My Life' follows Gill's journey of discovery as gradually he is forced to question his ingrained assumptions, prejudices and habits.Gill emerges from his fall from grace with humility and gratitude. His new-found empathy teaches him how anyone who has lost their way, or made a mistake, can start again.