Breaking Through the Wall: A Marathoner's Story

by Dolores E. Cross

The autobiography of Dolores Cross's journey from the housing projects of Newark, New Jersey, to her appointment as president of Morris Brown College. She tells of her journey out of poverty, through the tumult of the 60s and the civil rights movement, to a series of prestigious academic appointments, the joy of motherhood, and running her first marathon at the age of 50.

242 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1999

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dolores's story. Her perseverance and fortitude are inspiring!! Edit: Ok, so I read this book again, a year later. For some reason, I reached for it, among all the books on my shelf. The short chapters are broken down into marathon miles. The words of wisdom at the beginning of each chapter may be taken as written, words of advice when running a marathon. Or they can be taken as words of wisdom for each of our lives. I reached for this book at a time in my life, when I needed to hear that wisdom. What to look out for, how to keep going, how to support others, how to support yourself.
I still can't believe how much Dolores achieved, and how much energy and willpower it took to even begin on the path to her chosen successes. She strove to live up to her family's continual questions: "Have you learned how to think?" "What will what you have learned mean to the community?" "What are you doing for your community?" Coming from her own experiences, her mission was to allow qualified students access to higher education, and to believe in themselves. Dolores is honest in her appraisal of the toll her work took, on her husband and children. The biggest takeaway for me, is not that she managed to do what she set out to do, with vision and moxy, but that hers is just one story, of one black girl, coming from one poor black community. Dolores aimed for thousands of black children, from many communities, to reach for a vision, and a story, of their own.