From a bestselling author comes a new memoir chronicling his harrowing journey from gang member to one of the most revered figures in Chicano literature and American letters. Rodriguez's emotional journey offers deep insight into barrio life and the embattled souls of those heroic men and women who risk everything to make it out--and return to help those left behind. 336 pp. 150,000 print.

The son of Mexican immigrants, Luis J. Rodríguez began writing in his early teens and has won national recognition as a poet, journalist, fiction writer, children's book writer, and critic. Rodríguez helped create Tia Chucha's Café & Centro Cultural. Visit LuisJRodriguez.com.