An Uncertain Journey

by William Gross Jr.

At age six, William Louis Gross, Jr. considers his abject poverty, racism from unexpected places, and most of all, an uncertainty about where his life is going. But the entire trajectory of his life changes when he travels to the New Farmers of America’s Speaking Contest at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. Staring at the statue of Booker T. Washington with tears in his eyes, he weeps and promises himself that he will return as a student to receive a college education. However, at the end of the school year, he quits Talladega to join the Air Force to fight in the middle of the Vietnam War. Never patient to stay in one place, William describes the exhilarating changes in his life tour as he becomes a husband and father before retiring from both the military and the Environmental Protection Agency. Through his narrative, he emphasizes always believing in service and giving to others. Accordingly, he found time to become a coach, a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and a deacon at Oak Shade Baptist Church, in Catlett, Va. Like a detective writer, Gross leaves the reader with hints about whether he kept his promise to return to what is now Tuskegee University to receive his degree. Readers will nevertheless enjoy Gross’s life account filled with laughter, tears, and wisdom.

531 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 15, 2020