Book excerpt: The life of an inner-city police officer is an exhilarating and challenging task. It's even more daunting when you're a female and black. Irene Reyes-Smith has one thing on her mind when working the streets: to make it back home to her family. Unfortunately, Officer Reyes-Smith has been put in the position of fighting the system from both sides. In her novel, Surviving the Badge, she writes about defending her right to serve and protecting her son from a system that is ready and willing to make him a statistic. As you take this walk with the author, you will feel the heartbreak of a mother's challenge to help the world see her son through her eyes.