About the Book Everybody has a story. This is mine and ...yours. This is herstory (you know, like history) – an experience in urban drama that strikes a chord with anyone who has faced adversity and won out over seemingly insurmountable odds. This story begins long ago but quickly brings us to the present. Enjoy this fast paced, gritty drama based on my real-life story. Watch the infamous California gangs organize and meet their leaders, my uncles. Run through the chaotic streets of LA during the 1992 riots or flash a friend at “Freak Nic” in Hotlanta. Enjoy the Historically Black College/ University experience in “da kuntry” (believe me it is like no other) and lose yourself (sometimes you get in too deep) ...then find yourself. Between these covers lies an adventure anyone can appreciate. How would you judge me? How do you judge yourself? About the Author The author Tianka R. Sheard Mitchell lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is originally from Compton, California where she spent her formative years until relocating to Arkansas to attend Philander Smith College in 1994. Mitchell graduated Philander, Cum Laude, with her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She works as a Middle School teacher. She has earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and is currently pursuing her Doctorate’s degree in the same field. Both degrees are from Arkansas State University, Jonesboro. Her twin daughters are both practicing Registered Nurses earning their degrees at Bethune Cookman University in Daytona, Beach Florida. She has a young son in elementary school with her husband of fifteen years. Mitchell dedicates her success to her “Boos”. She says without them, she would only have been what she was. They gave her the motivation to become much more. This book is as much their triumph as hers.