Want to learn the ideas in Writing My Wrongs better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of Writing My Wrongs
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Writing My Wrongs, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Shaka Senghor.
1-Page Summary of Writing My Wrongs
Overview
When we were teenagers, we experienced our first taste of independence. We experimented with different things that adults do. Like drinking and dating for the first time. But it was hard to find boundaries and sometimes got into trouble with our parents or the law.
Most people don’t have a hard time growing up, but some do. This is the story of how one man was able to overcome his troubled youth and turn his life around.
Despite growing up in a safe home with a loving family, he slipped into highly destructive habits, selling drugs and committing murder. He eventually went to prison where he found redemption through writing poetry.
I’ll also talk about the 1980s crack epidemic in Detroit and why calling 911 was useless. I’ll also explain why prison life is so dangerous.
Big Idea #1: Shaka Senghor’s childhood took an unexpected turn when his parents’ divorce scarred him emotionally.
Life is full of surprises, and we never know how things will turn out. Shaka Senghor’s life was no exception. He grew up in a loving family in Detroit, but he got caught up with the wrong crowd at an early age. He started committing crimes and eventually ended up serving 19 years in prison for second-degree murder. His experience changed his perspective on life forever, but it also taught him many lessons that have helped him become successful today.
Shaka recalls how he and his sisters would go to the ice skating rink with their father during Christmas.
Shaka had a promising future. He remembered when his mother asked what he wanted to do in the future, and he said that he wanted to be a doctor so that he could give lollipops to children getting shots and help sick people get better.
A young boy named Shaka felt devastated when his parents divorced. He was upset because he thought it was his fault that they broke up. After a year, they got back together again, but this time for only a few months before splitting up again and moving to different parts of Detroit. Shaka blamed himself for the divorce and didn’t understand why his mom would want to get rid of him after all she’d done for him.
Big Idea #2: Trying to find his own way, Shaka fell in with the wrong crowd, leading him into a world of drugs and violence.
Have you ever considered running away from home as a kid? Well, Shaka was one of the few who actually did it. He turned 14 in 1986 during Detroit’s crack epidemic. He became preoccupied with smoking cigarettes and dating girls.
Shaka’s mother was upset. She didn’t know how to manage Shaka’s rebellious behavior, so she punished him or told him that he could leave whenever he wanted. Eventually, it came to the point where Shaka did just that and began living with friends who gave him food and shelter in exchange for help around the house. He lived in squalor because if he had a place of his own, he’d need a job to pay for rent/mortgage/utilities etc.
Shaka was introduced to a man named Miko. Miko offered Shaka a job selling drugs for him, along with an allowance of $350 per week and another $10 every day for food. In return, Shaka would have to be at the spot where customers could find him all week long, from morning until night.
On the drug dealing ladder, this was the lowest job you could get. However, it paid well and Shaka needed money so he took that job. Miko gave him 100 small rocks of crack to sell for $5 each. Even at 14 years old, Shaka was armed with a loaded shotgun to protect himself from customers who tried to rip him off or jump him.
