After attending LACC, Terry McMillan earned a B.A. in journalism from UC Berkeley. Her first book, Mama, was published in 1987. It sold out its first printing after McMillan marketed the book herself, unhappy with the publicity it received from the publisher’s promotion. Her third novel, Waiting to Exhale, made the New York Times bestseller list and sold over 3 million copies. Two of her novels, Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, have been adapted into successful movies.