A review by knod78
Scenes from My Life: A Memoir by Jon Sternfeld, Michael K. Williams

5.0

If I could give this 10 stars, I would. So far, this is my favorite book of the year. It was powerful. It was motivational. It was so much more than I thought it would be. And it's so different than other celeb memoirs. I only wished Michael K. Williams narrated the book, because he's voice is deep and mesmerizing. Sadly, he lost his life as soon as this book was finished. Yes, there is repeated information, but it wasn't as bad.

Seriously, I thought this book would be about his drug use and maybe his homosexuality mixed in with his craziness in Hollywood. That was there for sure, the drug use being the central part that infected his life. But it was not just about that. I didn't realize what an activist he was and how much he put back into the community, his own long forgotten community ravaged by violence and drugs. I loved his take on juveniles and the school to prison train. I've long been in opposition to how we handle juveniles and crime, especially locking up 12 year olds in adult prison, but Michael takes it to another level. He has real life solutions. He talks to politicians. He gets involved in his community. He talks to the youth and has them meet with lawyers (new and old), police, community members, and anyone else who will listen to maybe make a difference.

I'm so sad that his life, his light, his fire was taken so soon, because who knows what he more he could have done. This book inspires me to do more, to get out there, to help. I hope you get the same out of it like me.