Roman Morrow, a Memphis public school teacher, was simply trying to live a quiet life and get to retirement--if he could make it. Making it to retirement sober would be a bonus and highly unlikely. Fate would have its say. A violent incident at the funeral of another victim of a violent incident in violence-ridden South Memphis changed his life. Literally. Laying on the sidewalk, Roman felt life leaving his body. It was his old life. A new life would walk out of the hospital six weeks later. A purposeful life. One with meaning. One with a mission. One school teacher would affect change in his...

Memphis, Tennessee. Growing up in the south. It was a ton of fun. I liken my childhood to a favorite show I grew up watching -- "The Little Rascals" -- and one of the earliest books I remember, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." If it is possible to combine these two wonderful sources, then that would be my childhood in Memphis, a childhood filled with seemingly everything a southern boy could want: daily adventures involving alligators, truancy, cars, daredevils, girls, sports, ambition and other assorted steps to maturity. A lot has changed in my hometown, but it has not dimmed the vivid...