Book excerpt: This Path I Took is an illuminating story of one man's recollection of his early years of how a young Cape Verdean boy struggled with discrimination, loneliness and poverty, how it manifested into his teenage years, his introduction into self-medicating and the graduation from internal unrest and anger into outward aggression toward others and his community. Author Gerald Ribeiro provides us with an oral history of his struggle with oppression in all its various forms and how it helped to create the self-fulfilling prophecy of yet another addicted, homeless, AIDS infected black man. Through his personal journey of redefinition, rebirth and recovery, Ribeiro understands the commonality, value and potential of all people. His actions to recover his life extend far beyond the individual into his community as a well-respected advocate for drug treatment, an AIDS activist and a leader for social change. This Path I Took is a story of transformation from a man's sense of hopelessness and separateness to a place of great love for humanity and a call to others and their infinite possibilities.