17 to Life: A Black Boy Memoir (On Becoming a Human... Being in America)

In this candid and spirited memoir, oronde ash offers memories from age 9-17, his search for meaning in America despite bitterness, self-hate and disconnection many young boys suffer through in silent fury, and so few have expressed with open emotion, introspection and hope. Part coming-of-age tome, part immigrant assimilation story, part quest for meaning beyond the American dream, each chapter begs us, no matter our color, age or creed, to question our intentions, value our relationships, stock up on human goodness, be moved by love’s willing embrace and continually move to not merely change our lives, but to transform our world. Reviewer Diepiriye Kuku of www.litgriot.com writes, “Conceivably, it is these experiences of new Americans that teach us old ones the most about where we stand despite, and in spite of the grand values espoused in our rhetoric.”