4 out of 4 stars
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The Diary Of A Changed Man is a book written by Marlon Reid documenting his journey from his childhood to adulthood through difficult times brought on by bad decisions that he made along the way. The audio-book is narrated by John H Fehskens.
Marlon was born to an addicted mother who was impregnated at an early age of 16. In order to get him a good upbringing, she had to leave him with his grandparents most of his childhood to the extent that he knew them as ‘mum’ and ‘dad’. As a child, he didn’t see it that way. As he grew he came to find out more about his background and in the process realized that not everyone is who he believed they were. This hurt him and made him feel betrayed. As he grew up and went to school he was at the same time hanging out with friends from the streets, who seemed to be doing okay dealing drugs. Soon he joined them, enjoying the freedom the money afforded him despite numeral lock-ups and having to deal with a probation officer.
He became a father as a teenager, bringing in new challenges in his life. This nudged him toward a path of getting his life back on track. It was after many pitfalls, lock-ups, relapses, reliance on Divine strength and support from a long time girlfriend that he managed to pull through. Part of his motivation was his younger brother Derrick’s success in the boxing world and the need to be a good example to his son and other young men in his neighbourhood. He had also lost a few of his friends to the street. The kind of support he expected from his kin and crew when he was struggling wasn’t always forthcoming. This was partly due to the bad name he had made for himself.
The great thing I realized about an audiobook is you can listen to it while doing something else that doesn’t need all your attention like driving, laundry or better yet, writing notes related to the book. Although there were rare phrase repetitions here and there, the story flow was gracious and simple to comprehend. The author told it in first person mixing in some of that “Philly” (Philadelphia) slang/phraseology. The tone of his story is filled with gratitude toward his grandparents, friends from Myrtlewood Street, from the church, and any other person who positively contributed to his life in one way or another.
I like the fact that the author left little out of his story to share where one is capable of coming from and make a change for the better. His story should be inspiring to young men who need not make the bad choices he did growing up. I recommend this book to them, and any other who is in a position of influence over such, to share this story. Marlon Reid is currently married to Julia, is an ordained deacon at his home church and is the founder of Men do Help Men Foundation.
I have no reason not to rate this book with 4 out of 4 stars. I think the memoir is well narrated and organized in the book’s almost 40 short chapters, which include a number of open letters. Those who like memoirs will also enjoy this book.
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The Diary Of A Changed Man
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