There is a big difference between saying "programming simply is not for everyone" and "not everyone can learn to program". The book is saying that everyone can

There is a big difference between saying "programming simply is not for everyone" and "not everyone can learn to program". The book is saying that everyone can be good (although like guitar, through practice). That's very different from "everybody will be good" or "everybody will enjoy it" or "programming is for everyone" Sometimes it's hard to know if its for you or not until you've immersed yourself in it for long enough. Unfortunately for the woman you mentioned, this was likely many years of her time. Other people know immediately. Either way it doesn't mean that they couldn't learn or get nothing out of it. You don't have to be a chef for knowing how to cook nice things to be a useful skill to have.