" Devil with a Halo" is a story of the incredible journey of a young impoverished and streetwise boy, growing up in Washington, D.C. during the Civil Rights Era. As you follow his journey from retrospect, you will sometimes laugh until you cry; and other times cry until you laugh, as you experience the many adventures and misadventures of my character "Peter." You will see how he struggled to find balance between the ways of his alcoholic and abusive father, and those of his devout Christian mother.
The story describes the damage [and recovery] Peter experienced as result of his abusive, and later, absent father; and how the will of his mother always kept him from falling off the edges of life that he insisted on straddling . While on his journey, Peter rarely acknowledged barriers to his own experiences, or denied himself the satisfaction of his curiosities about life. His antics and his Ebonics filled conversations during his earlier years should amuse you; and you will be thrilled to see how he was able to pick himself up by the so called "Bootstraps" to grow and start developing beyond his artificial boundaries.
The intent is to tell an amusing story about the hardships experienced by a young boy - in a way that will expand discussions of the plight of children and youth when fathers are absent, ineffective, or abusive. "Devil with a Halo" shows young people [with various risk factors] that improving their attitudes can supplement their aptitudes; and how to overcome barriers inherent in their own lives, by making choices and decisions conducive to more acceptable outcomes they can live with, and be proud of.
The book concludes with a substantive review of underlying messages inherent in the story, and a strong call to help save our children and youth.
Jack Wilder was born and raised in Washington, D.C. during the Civil Rights Era. As the 3rd of 7 children in a highly dysfunctional family, Jack struggled against all odds to become an entrepreneur at age 13, and later completed thirty years of Public Service in the District of Columbia government, and concurrently as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice in the last fifteen years of his career. In 2005, full of frustration with the Bush Administration, a poorly managed local government, and efforts to gentrify Washington, D.C. at the whim of Developers, Jack retired from public service.
