My Story. Our Journey
A Story of Resilience, Advocacy & a Mother’s Unstoppable Will.
Founder, mother, and advocate – Heba Salem shares the real and raw story behind the mission, the moments that tested everything, and the purpose that never let her give up.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
I never imagined writing a book. Building a company or speaking on stages was never the plan. I was simply a mother searching for answers for my child.
When I found myself facing a system filled with pain, closed doors, and families who deserved better, I knew I couldn’t stay silent. I had a choice – accept things as they were, or do something about it. I chose to build.
Every chapter of my life since then has been shaped by one belief: when we experience a problem deeply enough, we have a responsibility to become part of the solution.
Whether you’re here as a parent, a professional, a fellow entrepreneur, or someone who simply loves stories of resilience, thank you for being here. I hope this book reminds you that even in your hardest moments, you have more strength than you know – and that your story can create change for others.
This book is my heart on these pages. My hope is that it becomes a light in your own journey.
With love and gratitude,
From A Mother To A CEO
Heba Salem did not choose this path. The path chose her, one closed door at a time.
Hussein was born in Cairo into a world that would take years to understand him. What followed was two decades of assessments that offered no answers, schools that closed their doors, a medication that dimmed the light in her child’s eyes, and a relentless search across four countries for a world that could hold him. Egypt taught her devotion. Canada taught her self-reliance. Saudi Arabia gave her a vision. Texas gave her the place to build it.
From A Mother To A CEO is the story of how a woman forged by waiting rooms and parking lot tears became the founder of Breakthrough ABA, a behavioral therapy practice built from the four gaps she experienced as a mother that no clinic ever closed. It is the story of Hussein, a young man who navigated the streets of Paris at six years old but could not yet form a sentence, who went on to complete a four-year specialized university program for individuals with developmental disabilities and, in May 2026, walked that campus on his own and graduated. And it is the story of what two decades of fighting for a child quietly builds inside the person doing the fighting.
Heba does not write about resilience as a virtue. She writes about it as something you develop when you have no other option, and what you discover, when you finally look back, is that the suffering and the purpose were the same thing all along.
For every mother who has cried in her car after a meeting that broke her heart, and then wiped her face and drove to the next one. This book is yours.
BOOK REVIEWS
Real words from the readers who have been moved, inspired, and empowered by the story
A Grateful Reader
Heba Salem tells her story with incredible honesty. The heartbreak, the uncertainty, the determination—it all feels real. What makes this book so powerful is watching a mother transform years of struggle into something that could help countless other families. I finished the book feeling inspired and hopeful.
A Parent & Reader
This book beautifully captures what it means to keep going when the answers don’t come easily. Heba’s journey from searching for help for her son to building a mission-driven company is extraordinary. It is a story about advocacy, faith, resilience, and refusing to accept that “this is just how things are.
A Fellow Entrepreneur
There are moments in this book that will stay with me for a long time. The waiting rooms, the closed doors, the tears, and then the decision to keep moving forward. Heba gives a voice to the mothers who quietly fight battles every day and reminds them that their perseverance matters.
A Mother & Advocate
What touched me most was the way Heba transformed personal hardship into a purpose bigger than herself. This isn’t simply a story about becoming a CEO. It’s about becoming an advocate, a builder, and a source of hope for others. A truly meaningful and uplifting read.
A Reader
Heba’s story is a beautiful example of what can happen when love refuses to give up. Her journey with Hussein, across countries and through years of uncertainty, makes this book incredibly personal and powerful. It reminds us that resilience isn’t something we are born with—it is something we build along the way.
A Supporter of the Mission
From A Mother To A CEO is more than a story of motherhood—it is a story of courage, perseverance, and turning unimaginable challenges into purpose. Heba’s journey is deeply moving and a powerful reminder that sometimes the hardest seasons of our lives lead us exactly where we are meant to be.