Underprivileged Overachiever
A Crenshaw Story
by Y.A. Salimu
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Pub Date 31 Aug 2020 | Archive Date 31 Jan 2021
Geospatial Q & A Inc. | Telemachus Press
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Description
My name is Yohancé.
It rhymes with Beyoncé, starts with a Y.
YOH-HON-SAY.
Like too many young people, I grew up amid poverty, homelessness, gang violence and drugs. But unlike many others, I found success. I reached for the skies – literally – and became a multi-decorated graduate of the famed Air Force Academy.
At age fourteen, I ran away, but not from home—because I never had one to begin with. At school I participated in every sport, club, and after-school activity, so that when the other kids finally left, I could settle in for the night by my locker. I spent my childhood dealing with gangs, drugs, violence, and my mother's mental illness, but the real enemy was always poverty.
This is The Blind Side meets The Pursuit of Happyness, except this time the father is just a boy. I drag my little brother through hell with me, ready to sacrifice myself to keep him alive. Now that the story is complete, I have written it all down in this memoir: Underprivileged Overachiever: A Crenshaw Story.
My memoir tells a unique story with candor, irreverent humor, bad jokes, and open-hearted sentiment. I recall the colorful people – both good and bad – who played important roles in my life. I explain how a child was forced very quickly to become an adult – and learned it the hard way.
My life story has been the subject of several media stories, including The Los Angeles Times. But Underprivileged Overachiever: A Crenshaw Story gives me the opportunity in 250 pages to share the deepest details of my life that I have never shared before.
Advance Praise
"OMG. This story...might need a warning label before..."
—Eric Sondheimer
Los Angeles Times
"OMG. This story...might need a warning label before..."
—Eric Sondheimer
Los Angeles Times
Marketing Plan
The plan is to release the book in all formats on all major platforms. UNDERPRIVILEGED OVERACHIEVER is available from Ingram at the 55% discount for retailers.
It is also already in several libraries.
LCCN: 2020916454
There will also be a music video and robust marketing plan as I bolster my platform as a public speaker.
It's a ways away, but I am coming for the #1 spot.
Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)
Names: Salimu, Y. A. (Yohancé A.), author.
Title: Underprivileged overachiever : a Crenshaw story / by Y.A. Salimu.
Description: Dublin, Ohio : Telemachus Press, [2020] | Includes index. |
Interest age level: 014-018. | Summary: The true story of an African
American man who grew up amid poverty, homelessness, gang violence and
drugs. But unlike many others, he found success. He reached for the
skies and became a multi-decorated graduate of the Air Force Academy.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781951744328 (paperback) | ISBN 9781951744335
(hardback) | ISBN 9781951744311 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Salimu, Y. A. (Yohancé A.) | Homeless youth--California--
Los Angeles--Biography. | African American military cadets--California-
-Los Angeles--Biography. | Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.)--
Students--Biography. | Brothers--California--Los Angeles. | FIRST
Robotics Competition (2009) | Success. | CYAC: Salimu, Y. A. (Yohancé
A.) | Homeless youth--California--Los Angeles--Biography. | African
American military cadets--California--Los Angeles--Biography. |
Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Students--Biography. |
Brothers--California--Los Angeles. | FIRST Robotics Competition (2009)
| Success. | LCGFT: Autobiographies. | BISAC: YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION /
Biography & Autobiography / General.
Classification: LCC E185.97.S24 A3 2020 (print) | LCC E185.97.S24 (ebook)
| DDC 979.49400496073092 B--dc23
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781951744311 |
| PRICE | US$8.30 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Kelly M, Media/Journalist
Underprivileged Overachiever is an honest and inspiring read, filled with hardships but ultimately shows the human spirit and the will to succeed.
Elizabeth B, Reviewer
3 out of 5 stars - It was ok
Don't get me wrong, this was an interesting story. I just had troubles following some of the details and some of the graphic content was a bit much for me.
Maureen C, Reviewer
This is such an honest memoir of a homeless teen with buckets of drive, determination, and dreams. His humor as he navigates his complex life helps him survive and makes it easier for "us" to access his environment. This is an important book that will stay with me and Yohance is a remarkable man. I look forward to the next installment.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
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