Between You, Me and the Gatepost

Between You, Me and the Gatepost is a coming of age story. It chroniclesthe early life of Eugene Cannon. He is a boy growing up among the remnantsof Jim Crow in the late 1950s and the dawning of the sexual revolution in the1960s. He is catapulted between contrasting worlds of the ambivalent Southand the socially ambitious North. Eugene struggles to establish his own beliefsbetween these extremes. The violent loss of his mother stimulates the swayingof the pendulum in his precarious existence. His confl icts are emotional andpsychological. Uncouth role models infl uence unhealthy resolutions which failto satisfy his young mind; a mind where decisions are dictated by passion ratherthan reason. Eugene matriculates through high school preparing for college as ateenage father. His survival is uncertain and his potential for genuine affectionis damaged. If he retreats into one of his myriad facades he could disappear forever. No one has been privy to his authentic mind. When the truth is revealedit will be among his most intimate companions.

Clarence Alston has been a public school administrator for over 15 years in New Jersey where he lives with his wife, Sylvia and youngest son, David. His many years of experience include being a principal of an elementary school, middle school and high school. He has also been an Assistant Superintendent and school district Superintendent. He has a M.A.T. from The University of South Carolina and an Ed. D. from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.