The botched robbery didn't do it. Neither did the three gunshots. It wasn't until he was administered last rites that David Borkowski realized he was about to die, at age fifteen. A Shot Story: From Juvie to Ph.D. is a riveting account of how being shot saved his life and helped a juvenile delinquent become an esteemed English professor. Growing up in a working-class section of Staten Island, David and his friends thought they had all the answers: They knew where to hang out without being hassled, where to get high, and what to do if the cops showed up. But when David and his friend called in...

A near-death experience turns a troubled underachiever into an accomplished English professor.

The botched robbery didn't do it. Neither did the three gunshots. It wasn't until he was administered last rites that David Borkowski realized he was about to die, at age fifteen. A Shot Story: From Juvie to Ph.D. is a riveting account of how being shot saved his life and helped a juvenile delinquent become an esteemed English professor.

Growing up in a working-class section of Staten Island, David and his friends thought they had all the answers: They knew where to...