Inspiring, Intimate Stories from Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, Toni Morrison, Alex Rodriguez, Whoopi Goldberg, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and others
"Every one of us looks back on a coach or a teacher or some person who set us straight and steered us right. You don’t get to the top of your game or the top of your field or the top of the charts entirely on your own, and I want to celebrate the good people who have helped us get where we’re going."-- Denzel Washington
Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a lasting difference in one's life. That's how it was for Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington, who will inspire readers with his personal story about the man at the Mount Vernon Boys Club, who set him on the "path to purpose" in his new book A Hand to Guide Me. Mr. Washington then brings together moving first-person accounts from other successful luminaries who describe the devoted mentors who helped them find their shine when they were young "diamonds in the rough"-including notables such as Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Carter, Whoopi Goldberg, Jackie Joyner Kersee, John Singleton, Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Steinem, Hank Aaron, Tara Lipinski, John Mellencamp, Yogi Berra, Walters Anderson, Bob Woodward, Toni Morrison, and Anna Kournikova, among others.
"We're all destined to leave some kind of mark. I really believe that," writes Mr. Washington. "But I also believe we miss our marks from time to time, and without a certain push in the right direction we might never find the path we were meant to follow. This book is about that certain push, that helping hand we've all had to reach for in order to get where we're going."
Poignant, heartwarming, and powerful, the stories in A Hand to Guide Me follow the coaches, parents, barbers, teachers, and counselors whose insights and support nurtured youngsters and friends out of the constraints of rough neighborhoods, disability, poverty, and insecurity. Actor Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, paralyzed from the waist down in a tragic motorcycle accident, offers a tribute to the late Christopher Reeve, who encouraged him to "go forward."
Published to coincide with the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, A Hand to Guide Me continues Denzel Washington's long-standing dedication to the powerful role that mentoring, and in particular, the Boys & Girls Clubs, played in his life as a child growing up in Mount Vernon, New York. "In my neighborhood," the international film star says, "the Boys Club was the center of everything. It was where I learned how to play ball, how to focus and set my mind on a goal, where I learned about consequence and where I learned how to be a man." The actor's proceeds from the book will be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the country.
Filled with courage, humanity, and the pure power of caring, A Hand to Guide Me honors the unsung heroes who lend their strength and wisdom to the smallest and most vulnerable among us. With it, Denzel Washington has created a memorable book that celebrates the importance of everyday mentorship and how it can forever change the course of one life at a time for the better."
----To Support Boys & Girls Clubs of America
"Every one of us looks back on a coach or a teacher or some person who set us straight and steered us right. You don’t get to the top of your game or the top of your field or the top of the charts entirely on your own, and I want to celebrate the good people who have helped us get where we’re going."-- Denzel Washington
Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a lasting difference in one's life. That's how it was for Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington, who will inspire readers with his personal story about the man at the Mount Vernon Boys Club, who set him on the "path to purpose" in his new book A Hand to Guide Me. Mr. Washington then brings together moving first-person accounts from other successful luminaries who describe the devoted mentors who helped them find their shine when they were young "diamonds in the rough"-including notables such as Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Carter, Whoopi Goldberg, Jackie Joyner Kersee, John Singleton, Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Steinem, Hank Aaron, Tara Lipinski, John Mellencamp, Yogi Berra, Walters Anderson, Bob Woodward, Toni Morrison, and Anna Kournikova, among others.
"We're all destined to leave some kind of mark. I really believe that," writes Mr. Washington. "But I also believe we miss our marks from time to time, and without a certain push in the right direction we might never find the path we were meant to follow. This book is about that certain push, that helping hand we've all had to reach for in order to get where we're going."
Poignant, heartwarming, and powerful, the stories in A Hand to Guide Me follow the coaches, parents, barbers, teachers, and counselors whose insights and support nurtured youngsters and friends out of the constraints of rough neighborhoods, disability, poverty, and insecurity. Actor Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, paralyzed from the waist down in a tragic motorcycle accident, offers a tribute to the late Christopher Reeve, who encouraged him to "go forward."
Published to coincide with the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, A Hand to Guide Me continues Denzel Washington's long-standing dedication to the powerful role that mentoring, and in particular, the Boys & Girls Clubs, played in his life as a child growing up in Mount Vernon, New York. "In my neighborhood," the international film star says, "the Boys Club was the center of everything. It was where I learned how to play ball, how to focus and set my mind on a goal, where I learned about consequence and where I learned how to be a man." The actor's proceeds from the book will be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the country.
Filled with courage, humanity, and the pure power of caring, A Hand to Guide Me honors the unsung heroes who lend their strength and wisdom to the smallest and most vulnerable among us. With it, Denzel Washington has created a memorable book that celebrates the importance of everyday mentorship and how it can forever change the course of one life at a time for the better."