Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

Nancy Achin's Survival Story

By Joshua M. Sklare

Published: 2019, 196 pages

Client: Nancy Achin

Born: 1959, in Lowell, MA

Died: 2022, in Andover, MA

Industries: Retail and Public Sector Service

Nancy grew up with an alcoholic father and was stricken with her first bout of cancer at 14. She graduated from Harvard in 1981, and went to work for the legendary retailer Filene’s, where she became the youngest Vice President. She then left Filene’s to become the executive director of the Girl’s Club of Lowell, Massachusetts. She won a Massachusetts senate seat in 1991, but retired after one term due to her cancer treatments. She then served for nearly ten years as the executive director of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. Her life’s work was helping and inspiring others.