{"product_id":"touch-me-im-for-real-paperback","title":"Touch Me! I'm for Real - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJean Barrett Groves\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike most kids, teachers asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. That question was hard to answer as a black girl growing up in Harlem in the 1950s. When I tried to look back beyond my grandmother to understand my family's past, there was an ugly stain on our history left by slavery and then just a dark blur. It was said we came from Africa. Where exactly? I didn't know. There was no connection. When I looked around me, I saw crime, violence, and drugs spreading malignity through the black community. Meanwhile, the old staples-faith and family values-were like walls slowly crumbling down. I glanced ahead, but it was hard to see past things modeled at home, wrong words said or negative messages telegraphed to me in books and media that poo-pooed my potential. They didn't bode well for my future. What was I to do? The only thing I could. I summoned whatever I had in me, used my ghetto beginnings to push against, and then propelled forward. I completed my education, developed a teaching career in the NYC public schools, and bought a house. I felt like I was finally \"somebody.\" A health issue came along and gave me a one-two punch. I became unable to walk and speak. My sense of worth was immediately placed in jeopardy when I joined a new group of disadvantaged-the disabled. I had to climb back up to acceptance and respectability and achieve normalcy. I asked myself, Could I find a voice and still make a difference? This book is how I answered that. It is a story about finding strength, hope, and a higher quality of life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 500\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.36 x 9.02 x 5.98 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 06, 2019\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42711000514623,"sku":"9781644629376","price":67.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/ef95d4d76d564aeb42dae74e4bd26b34.webp?v=1765056936","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/touch-me-im-for-real-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}