Ghetto Bastard 2 - Paperback

by Russell Vann (Author)

The saga continues . . . . The words "I love you" are echoed a million times a minute around the world, but what is love? Is it about a spiritual connection? Is love a form of infatuation? Are the words "I love you" a source of manipulation? In Ghetto Bastard: Book 2, twenty-six-year-old Malik Russell continues to discover the negative impact of love as he knows it.Society dictates that when a child is born, his mother automatically loves him. That she would protect and die for him-maternal love. But some mothers abuse their children, use them for financial gain, or even kill them. Some mothers neglect their children, like in Malik's case. If a child is raised with the absence of real love in his life, how does he learn to give it? How can he recognize it? The road to discovering self-love-the greatest love of all-is a rough one for kids who were raised by the ghetto; love can be as elusive as food, shelter, and clothing. Malik had love, he had a good job, he was making it. But infatuation, temptation, and manipulation got in the way of it all. With no foundation to fall back on, he gave up everything "for the girl." And now he's paying the price-he's alone, jobless, homeless, and hungry. What will he do now?Follow Malik on his solo journey to find true love: the love of God, the love of a good woman, and the love of family. And find out if it will be enough to keep him alive.

Author Biography

I was born in the South Bronx in the late sixties to a drug-addicted mother, who didn't know who my father was, and into a world that didn't want me. Growing up, I faced life or death situations every step of the way, it seemed. Not only have I struggled to overcome my own specters, but also those of my environment. I started to write these books as a form of therapy. In doing so, I realized that all the people around me, throughout my life, had been dealing with their own misfortunes. That's when it hit me that I was writing my memoirs to convey that "current situation" neither determines nor defines "final destination." I've had to overcome many obstacles affiliated with living in the ghetto. Did I escape unscathed? No, but I'm stronger. And matters of the heart-that I've experienced because of the ghetto-have shaped me into the man I've become. I'm no longer in the ghetto, and while those experiences haven't defined me, they haven't left me, either. I am truly blessed to have my loving family's support on this journey to become an author. Regardless of where you come from or what you do, I hope my life story touches you. The threads of commonality that run through my memoir show that we all face similar struggles in life and must overcome much of the same troubles. Life and death battles don't lurk around every corner, but fears and worries haunt us all; love and heartbreak can change our lives in a moment. Because of that, Ghetto Bastard tells everyone's story.