The Life I Chose: The Streets Lied To Me

Ameer Baraka’s “The Life I Chose…The Streets Lied to Me”, is a vivid, instructive and true to life account of a young man’s descent into the criminal life in New Orleans and his ascent to become a successful actor, producer and mentor to youth in the city. The Life I Chose…The Streets Lied to Me,” includes interesting and compelling material regarding the temptations and “traps” of growing up poor, Black and illiterate in the streets of New Orleans, including a murder of another youth and a long prison sentence. Mr. Baraka effectively tells his story of redemption, including how he taught himself to read, his entry into the film industry and his work as a mentor to at risk youth. The role that faith and reading plays in his recovery, from life in the streets, reflects what psychologists understand to be the pathway from street and prison to success. It is at once humorous, tragic, objective and emotional. It is a terrific read with a number of themes that will be of importance to general readers of memoirs, Black experience, and true to life crime. There are several books that describe similar pathways, but none I know are told as well as The Life I Chose…The Streets Lied to Me”, tells its tale.”