Soul Survivor - Softcover

Ballou, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1438226098 ISBN 13: 9781438226095

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2008

Synopsis

James Ballou grew up in Davenport, Iowa and faced an almost insurmountable set of obstacles from the beginning of his life. Raised by his father in an environment of the most brutal and depraved group of criminals that infested the Quad Cities in the 1970s and 1980s, he survived shootings, drug deals, abuse and neglect in a household that was a literal den of thieves. Soul Survivor is an accounting of the events that took place in his home and retells how he overcame the pain and damage that was caused by his upbringing. Read how he chose to become the man he wanted to be by refusing to allow his circumstances to dictate his fate.

About this title

About the Author:

James Ballou grew up in Davenport, Iowa. At three, his mother abandoned the family leaving James and his two older brothers with their father who was deeply involved in criminal activity and drug use. In the small house near the Mississippi River James learned to survive in the midst of drive-by shootings, illicit drug use, neglect and abuse. Surrounded by misery and pain James was given a firsthand lesson on CHOICE and the terrible repercussions that stem from failing to understand that one word. At fifteen, his father died forcing James to live with his estranged mother. It became immediately clear that the choices his mother had made during her long absence were very similar to the choices his father had made. At seventeen James left home, graduated from high school and joined the US Coast Guard. James describes his most important role as husband to April, his wife of nearly twenty years and of father to his four sons. James lives in West Haven, UT and travels extensively in the United States conducting seminars and delivering training. He believes that each person has the ability to change his or her life for the better by taking responsibility for their choices and not settling for the outcomes dictated by circumstance. His involvement in helping people make more informed choices is the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition and a testament to the positive outcomes that are yielded from making good choices rather succumbing to outcomes dictated by circumstance. Former slave and scholar Booker T. Washington penned a line that James finds both admirable and inspirational - "I have learnt that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1438226098
• ISBN 13: 9781438226095
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 162