this writing thing was some kind of magic trick I didn't yet understand... Nikki Grimes discovered the power of writing at the tender age of six, when, alone in her room, she poured her fears, anger, and tears onto a piece of paper - and felt sweet relief. Words and faith were her most enduring companions as life flung her headlong from one harrowing experience to the next through her childhood and teenage years. Words, spilled into notebook after notebook, kept her moving forward. Words turned what might have been into what could be. In the course of this remarkable memoir in verse, Nikki Grimes shows how grace, wisdom, and the power of words can help a brave soul conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of life. --