Review of Living My Shadows

[Aisha Yakub]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Living My Shadows" by Kevin IJA Barnett, Sr.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The only thing worse than rejection from strangers is rejection from your own family. At a young age, Kevin was told by his foster mother that his biological mother did not even take a look at him after he was birthed. He was immediately abandoned. His first foster mother left him on somebody's front porch with a bottle of bad milk.

Things did not seem to improve, as he was still treated poorly. In his foster home, he was tied around his neck or wrist and deprived of many things that kids of his age were allowed to enjoy. Kevin IJA Barnett, Sr. is the author of Living My Shadows, and in this book, he details the hardship he had to go through. Find out how he overcame his challenges by reading this book.

The story of Kevin's life is highly inspiring. It teaches that we can be what we want to be if we choose to stay consistent. A lot of bad words were told to Kevin, and this should have served as a source of discouragement. People say that you should make lemonade out of the lemons that life throws at you, and this is what Kevin has done. I found his story even more impressive because his hurdles started from a young age. It is often said that children are impressionable. The environment they see themselves in could determine the overall turnout of their lives. Breaking the narrative is no small feat.

A theme that is also explored in this book is the role of superstars as influences on our lives. A role model for Kevin was Muhammad Ali. Going against the stereotype, Kevin was fascinated with the American professional boxer. We may not realize it, but people learn from us. Even when we realize that we a source of encouragement to people, we owe it to them to stay consistent and keep inspiring them. I found no errors in this book; it was perfectly edited. Aside from the exceptional editing, I could tell that the author wrote just the way he felt. This helped me relate to this read and not see it as a work of fiction.

There was nothing to dislike about this book. The chapters were surprisingly short, but they did not interfere with my reading experience. For the reasons stated above, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to readers looking for some motivation. If you want to read about a person who did what many people told him that he could not do, then this book is for you.

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Living My Shadows
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[Patty Allread]

Your comment about the role of superstars as influencers is astute. Mohammed Ali influenced many of us and might have been big and bright enough to help Kevin change the course of his life. This book sounds like a worthwhile memoir to read.

[Zeph Dim]

It inspires to read stories of those who successfully overcame obstacles. What makes this so touching is that the struggles started right from birth. It would make an interesting read. Good review.