Clifford and Riley are brothers, born only one year apart, who live in a neighborhood on the south side of Queens, New York. Riley is more levelheaded than his older brother. He's mild-mannered but street-smart, which leads him on a pursuit of knowledge regarding his family history and current social issues. Clifford, on the other hand, is full of bravado and impressionable. Hip-hop culture quickly draws him in, and he automatically gravitates toward the negative aspects of the scene and the wrong crowd within it.
Follow these boys as they grow up before your eyes and find their place among their peers and in society at large. Their journey takes you into the worlds of hip-hop, dysfunctional families, and urban culture's variety of peer pressures. The story also travels to the beautiful island of Barbados, where the boys' family originates. It is here, among extended family, that Riley picks up on his parents' emotional disconnect, and where a serious illness takes the family on an emotional roller coaster.
Experience this urban, coming-of-age exploration of life and the realization that things aren't always what they seem to be.
About the Author: Edwin G. Bourne was born to Barbadian immigrants and raised in the Rochdale Village, CoOps, and Springfield Gardens neighborhoods on the south side of Queens, New York. Numerous summers spent on the island of Barbados helped him learn about his family's culture and history. He is a blogger and owner of the websites blackurbanmedia.com and thatswordisbourne.com, as well as bournebooks.com, which displays his and his wife, Samantha Perkins, novels, Seductions, Lost Journals of Black Gold and Handler. Bourne also created and currently manages the informative wellness website, Integrative Wellness by Samantha
Bourne holds an associate's degree in marketing management and sales from New York City Technical College, a bachelor of arts in business communications from Baruch College, and a graduate certification in Internet marketing from Full Sail University.
He and his wife live in Atlanta, Georgia.
