Fixing The Broken, Without Being Broken: Fixing The Broken, Without Being Broken, #1

By Jerome Redd

Two school-age kids reside in Baltimore City. One refuses to allow the other to get a decent education, requiring the authorities to get involved. Other onlookers are left confused, dazed, and baffled by the events. The answers to why are complex, but if you choose to listen, the author, Jerome Redd, gives a great explanation to those questions.

 

Jerome understands many aspects that adolescents have to endure. He, himself, had a similar background from elementary school through to the Army. With this knowledge, he takes one of the onlookers, his friend, to a boot camp in upstate New York, home to incarcerated youth. Like the children in Baltimore City, authorities had to step in to curb the troubled youth. Jerome becomes part of the education for the children and quickly discovers just how broken they are. He also learns he has something he can offer them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trient Press
• Release date: Jul 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781955198462

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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Ruscsak, M.L.

A title of a book :Working for Your Dreams: Making this year your best year

ISBN

Fixing The Broken, Without Being Broken- Book 1

By: Jerome Redd

Contents

Dedication

THE GIVER OF GRACE:

First, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my Father, which art in Heaven. By the saving grace of His only begotten Son, this book(s) finally got published. When I started writing this book some fifteen years ago, I thought it was going to be one book. By the time God was finished with me, it turned into a 3-book series on Fixing The Broken.

BOOK 1: Turning On The Light, So Change Can Take Place

This book is dedicated to all those young people who I have had the extreme pleasure of meeting and being a part of their lives. I am also pleased so many of them had a direct impact and positive outcome on my life. They gave me the ultimate boost to never quit and never give up. It was this type of inspiration that finally got my inner thoughts onto paper. I also hope what they gave to me was only an example of what they had and passed on to many more in need. I pray I was not the exception, but the rule.

BOOK 2: The Unsuspecting Impact

This book is for all of those Mr. Posey’s out there who love teaching and love kids. Mr. Posey was my 6th grade teacher. Mr. Posey, you saved my life. This is also for those parents, administrators, coaches, mentors, care-givers, etc., whose ultimate responsibility is to take care of and watch over someone. In Book 1, I showed you what happened between me and in the one-on-one interactions with the kids. In Book 2, I explain the behind-the-scenes actions, the input that impacted and even those who tried to sabotage at times, everything that I was working for. I also provided some tips and attributes to remember as you navigate your path with the broken. Book 1 was the good. Book 2 was the bad and the ugly. Put on your seat-belt.

BOOK 3: The Poetic Journey

Book 3 came out of default. If you’ve read Books 1&2, you will see that I poured my heart and soul into this project and these kids. In addition, I wasn’t looking for anything in return other than their success when they returned to New York City. What occurred as a direct impact and input of these kids was me publishing 3 books of poetry. Along with these 3 books they inspired me to write, is also some additional poetry written and included in Book 3 as well. I am speechless.

My Faithful Supporters:

These books are also dedicated to all of you who have patiently waited year, after year, after year for me, until I finally got it done. Thank you. Enjoy.

Forward

There is so much that I can say about Jerome Redd and I will actually do it in the foreword. Before I tell you how good this book is, I need to first tell you how good Jerome is as a person. He is a gift to mankind and I am very grateful for him. Honestly, he is a gift to mankind and you need to follow him and support him for as long as he lives.

I don’t know many things in life, but I do have one fundamental understanding that leads and guides me to prosperity each day: We are all connected. This is how I met Jerome. I was walking past him at a Les Brown Conference and a jolt of lighting rushed through my legs and made me stop. I can’t explain it, but I knew that if I kept walking past Jerome, that I would have missed out on an opportunity to meet greatness. Boy, am I glad that I was right. Jerome has changed my life. His kindness and his presence are exactly what driven and busy people like me need. People like Jerome remind me that life is not meant to be too fast or too rushed. It is meant to be shared with others.

Enter, Jerome’s 3-book series: Fixing The Broken, Without Being Broken (Book 1) (Turning On The Light, So That Change Can Take Place), Fixing The Broken, Without Being Broken (Book 2) (The Unsuspecting Impact), and Fixing The Broken, Without Being Broken (Book 3) (The Poetic Journey).

I have had the luxury to read each of these books and I am forever changed by them. There is a sweet retreat in each of these books. I am reminded of a book that says, If you are faithful to the few, you will be ruler over many. Dear Reader, I can assure you, these books are faithful to the brokenhearted and I fully expect for Jerome to reap a full harvest from his faithfulness.

In Book1 , Jerome writes, Nobody pushed me or told me, ‘Hey Jerome, you have got to write this book. Come on dude, let’s get it done.’ That didn’t happen. You see, no one had to push Jerome to be faithful to the brokenhearted. He was led by something far greater than all of us.

There is another section in which Jerome writes: Although HIV isn’t as rampant as it once was, it has and still is leaving its mark on our society. Too many young people and adults are having unprotected sex with some crazy results. Forget the ethical, moral and spiritual implications. We aren’t even asking one another, have you been tested. And, if we do ask, we don’t check. Somebody is asleep at the wheel. It is at this point in the book in which Jerome takes off the kid gloves and gets into our hearts and pulls at our morals. He reminded me that I have not done enough to help this world. None of us have.

Book 1 is splendid. I won’t ruin the other books for you, but I do want you to know that you are in for an emotional ride that will not disappoint you. Jerome, you are my brother for life. I am so grateful that I have met you. I consider you my friend and my coach. Although I coach you, my friend, you have given far more value into my life than I have ever given you. It is because of you I can remember to take time for people, no matter who they are and what they have done. I love you with all my heart and I am very happy the world gets to love you like I do.

Best,

Antonio T. Smith, Jr.

Mentee and Mentor of Jerome Redd.

Introduction

The Author

Before I give you any background about this story, let me first give you a little background about the person who comprised this story. He is very different and yet, very ordinary. He is extremely strong and yet, very vulnerable. He will give of his last, without hesitation. He is always learning and yet, very intelligent. The evolution of time has caused him to see the broken; experience the broken; fix the broken; and even become the broken. His carousel of evolving titles makes him uniquely positioned to address this issue of brokenness. But, is he qualified to answer that $64,000-dollar question? Can I fix the broken, without being broken? Now, that still remains to be seen.

The Question is?

So, some of you may be asking the pressing question, what is the purpose of this book and why did it need to be written in the first place? Before I answer that question, I would first like to ask you to go back and look at the title again. Then ask yourself the following question(s)? How many of you know a child, a student, a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend, a family member who is or has been broken? How many of you have witnessed or personally experienced the results of such brokenness? How many of you after having seen or experienced this brokenness, made a heart-felt attempt to fix it? On the other hand, in trying to fix the broken, you decided to abandon your attempt or not even try to help in the first place. Have you ever in your attempt to try to fix the broken, quickly realize that you were way in over your head? So, as a result, you didn’t even try to do any fixing, period. Do any of these questions hit home or sound somewhat familiar? I hope so.

Now let me attempt to try to answer your question, Why? About twenty years ago in up-state New York over a period of about seven years, something happened to me and with me, involving the broken, that some might even call miraculous. I found myself in a contradictory place where there was a lot of sadness and brokenness and not a lot of ways to fix or change this. When I finally walked away after seven years, I also felt pretty good about the help that I was able to give, which made a big difference. At the time, I was also ignorant and had no clue as to what I had really accomplished against such insurmountable odds, until much later.

It wasn’t until about fifteen years later surrounding a quiet train ride back to New York City that I truly realized what had taken place; what I had done and what an enormous impact I had on the lives of some unsuspecting kids and adults as well. This impact was truly life-changing.

This first book about the broken looks at the background of this story and where it takes place. It is focused mainly on the one-on-one exchanges I had as I encountered these broken vessels. I also explain and elaborate on the type of techniques I used to implement and stimulate a change in these young people’s lives. Although I didn’t realize this at first, I also later discovered what they in-turn, had passed on to me. Without this small innocent revelation, I believe this book would have never been written. These kids literally changed my life, forever.

As a retired Senior Sergeant from the United States Army, I have traveled all over the world. I am the author of three published books of poetry. I’ve also been exposed to a unique point of view when it comes to our youth today. In addition, I also have had opportunities to speak with and interact with a number of parents and care-givers over the years. I then got to personally work at this boot-camp in upstate New York for seven years. It became one of the best jobs at which I have ever had the pleasure to work. Now, let’s fast forward twenty years. I have also personally observed, listened to others, and watched on the news how bad our country is getting as a whole, on a daily basis. If I listen strictly to the news, our children today are in a lot of trouble. That might be true. Although I would have to agree that something definitely needs to be done, our troubled country is not my chosen area of expertise. You need to be checking with others for answers in this particular field. With that being said, I have had some personal interaction and motivating experiences when it directly comes to our youth and to those who are considered troubled youth. I’ve never been licensed or an official clinician of juvenile cognitive behavior. Let me tell you, it wasn’t until I did some real soul-searching and reflecting that I came to realize that maybe I do have something to offer by way of a real change. Maybe I do have something to say or contribute that could make an overall difference. Nevertheless, my self-talk then took over. You know for a fact that you made a difference some twenty years ago at that boot-camp in upstate New York. What has really changed since then? What are you lacking now that would prevent you from giving input and insight into this clouded and convoluted matter of brokenness? As I truly searched my inner man, I could not find an answer that would keep me silent. It was at this moment that I knew I needed to tell this very story to those who are out there working with the broken. I also knew that I needed to find a way for me to get back into that saddle again. I needed to find a way to get back to twenty years earlier, when I was working with these kids. When I finally found the courage to tell this pressing story to a friend about brokenness, I thought at the time it was for him and him only. I thought my confession alone about my boot-camp experience would suffice. It wasn’t until later that I realized and knew that this hunger needed to go into a book for everyone to see and learn from. It was not just for a chosen few to experience.

When I decided to resign from that job working with at-risk kids some twenty years ago, I felt good about what I had done for them. Nevertheless, I also felt broken that I had to depart the facility under circumstances to me that were less than what you might call favorable. When I reflect on all the wonderful achievements which occurred during my tenure at that facility, my need to step down was so unbelievable. Because of me, the staff, gave the kids additional time to their sentence. The kids became the sacrifice for me. I had no choice but to resign. With this troubling departure, I decided I would take that particular piece of my life’s history and place it or should I say, hide it away so that I didn’t have to face or deal with it in my future. This was such a sad commentary, considering that I had such a successful tenure at that place. If it weren’t for the fact that I really cared about