Skinhead Confessions: From Hate to Hope

A background in hate. A life of violence. A love for power. But all he needed was a moment of truth. I heard the gasp of horror and knew I'd been caught. "What are those?" she cried, pointing at my body, which was covered from neck to waist in graphic, sinister tattoos. No way was I going to tell her what they meant - the hate crimes I'd committed, the people I'd stabbed and maimed to earn those tattoos. No way was I going to tell her about the hundreds of kids I'd initiated to follow me into the White Power movement and the things they did for me every day. From his youth, TJ Leyden was taught to fight, to hurt, and to hate. Cunningly brilliant and deceptively clean-cut, TJ found that life with the Skinheads was exactly what he - and they - needed. Quickly rising to the top, TJ recruited members for the Skins, and in return he earned a name and a reputation as one of the most powerful men in the White Power movement. With a skill for fanning the fires of hatred and an ability to elude the law, it seemed that nothing would stop TJ - that is, until he became a father. As his own children grew, so did TJ's uncertainty about the cause he'd endorsed for so long. One fact finally emerged from all the racist propaganda: white power wasn't about being white; it was simply about having someone to hate. And once he realized this truth, TJ knew his life could never been the same. Skinhead Confessions takes you on an unbelievable ride through a dark world of violence to one of openness and faith in the future. TJ's honesty and courage - even in the face of death - have inspired people across America to take action against gang violence and hate crimes. A book unlike any other, this is the amazing true story of one person's journey from hatred to hope.

From his youth, TJ Leyden was taught to fight, to hurt, and to hate. Cunningly brilliant and deceptively clean-cut, TJ found that life with the Skinheads was exactly what he - and they - needed. Quickly rising to the top, TJ recruited members for the Skins, and in return he earned a name and a reputation as one of the most powerful men in the White Power movement. With a skill for fanning the fires of hatred and an ability to elude the law, it seemed that nothing would stop TJ - that is, until he became a father. As his own children grew, so did TJ's uncertainly about the cause he'd endorsed for so long. One fact finally emerged from all the racist propaganda: White Power wasn't about being white; it was simply about having someone to hate. And once he realized this truth, TJ knew his life could never be the same.