Lessons Learned

by Jarold Imes

When Daunte Royce gets out of jail after serving fifteen years for armed robbery, he still has a few more debts he has to pay. To the mothers of his three children, he owes them an explanation for why he wasn't faithful to either of them. To the three son's he's left behind, he owes them a role model they can truly look up to and a man they would be proud to call father. At 36, Daunte learns that all people aren't as forgiving as he would like them to be. He spends his time searching for his sons in a quest to undo the wrongs he has set before them. At 18, Dumar Jones can't celebrate the fact that he is graduating from Eldridge Cleaver High School, the largest predominantly black high school in Winston-Salem North Carolina. He is still dealing with the loss of his mother and stepfather in a car accident; not to mention the hell he raised as former leader of the Barions. With just a few months to spend time with his friends before he attends Winston-Salem State University, he contends with the idea of calling Daunte "dad" after not seeing him in almost sixteen years. Will these two men's paths cross at forgiveness or will their distrust for one another lead them further astray?

148 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2008