Russell Vann says; I was born in the South Bronx in the late sixties to a drug-addicted mother, who didn’t know who my father was, and into a world that didn’t want me. Growing up, I faced life-or-death situations every step of the way, it seemed. Not only have I struggled to overcome my specters, but also those of my environment. I started to write these books as a form of therapy. In doing so, I realized that all the people around me, throughout my life, had been dealing with their misfortunes. That’s when it hit me that I was writing my memoirs to convey that the “current situation” neither determines nor defines the “final destination.” I’ve had to overcome many obstacles affiliated with living in the ghetto. Did I escape unscathed? No, but I’m stronger. And matters of the heart—that I’ve experienced because of the ghetto—have shaped me into the man I’ve become.