From the night the Ku Klux Klan came to hang his father to the afternoon he received an honorary doctorate in recognition of his lifes work, Jeffs memoir is a story of human triumph over adversity, a story of individuals who can and do make a difference in the lives of others. Most of all, his memoir reminds us of the extraordinary stories that often lie below the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. No reader can help but be moved to tears by this compelling, inspirational work.
Jefferson Wiggins is an author, educator, lecturer, mentor and community leader. Born in rural Alabama to sharecropper parents, he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a teenager and received a field commission during World War II. He was one of the few black officers of that era. Wiggins was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Briarwood College in Southington, Connecticut. In 2001, he was named Connecticut Multicultural Educator of the Year. He is founder of the Wiggins Institute for Social Integrity and co-author , with Laura Stegmaier-Pettinato, of Hearts of Believers, the screenplay adaptation of this memoir.