Book excerpt: Unlucky Bastard is the story about an adolescent boy growing up on the west side of Chicago surrounded by negative influences. He has to learn to cope with having very little and needing a lot, such as food, clothing, and oftentimes stability in housing. At the early age of ten years old, he became aware of the destructive world in which he must adapt to and somehow navigate his way to some level of success. This story does not exclusively belong to Chris, but many youth growing up in inner cities across this country. Chris finds himself entrenched in high-level, organized criminal activity at a very young age, hopelessly destined to spiral downward til reaching rock bottom at a maximum-security-level prison. Come with the author on this death-defying journey that will ultimately lead to a path of spiritual awaking and redemption. Unlucky Bastard may reflect many other young black males' story, but this author uses his experience to try to help others to put into proper perspective the horrific thing that continues to happen in the urban community.