Growing up as a Black male with a single mother in Watts, South Los Angeles has almost become a surefire clich for trouble, crime involvement and all of its attendant traps. However, follow the life of narrator, Nathaniel, who was born in 1965, and see how he has defied the odds. His parents separated when he was a baby. Yet, his life was far from a statistic. With the help of a strong, praying mother, a close-knit community, and a church family, Nathaniel had the support needed for a young African American male coming of age in a dangerous world. As the African proverb says, "It takes a village to raise a child." When Nathaniel's mother died when he was 20 years old, his somewhat estranged father became more involved in his life, picking up the baton where his mother left off, and successfully helping him navigate the shoals into Black manhood as he becomes part of a true love story.