{"product_id":"oakland-hills-milwaukee-rivers-keyimani-l-alford-9798992086997","title":"Oakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers: A Memoir of Survival, Identity, and Purpose","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers: A Memoir of Survival, Identity, and Purpose (Second Edition)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy Dr. Keyimani L. Alford\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt began with a knock.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA slow, steady knock-calm, intentional. The kind that didn't just interrupt a quiet Saturday. It altered everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the back room of a dim apartment in Oakland, a boy sat alone on a dusty carpeted floor, tracing shapes with his fingers-pretending they were roads to somewhere better. The flicker of a black-and-white TV played to no audience. The bed sat off-center, its frame tired, its blanket wrinkled. No dresser. No posters. Just silence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUntil that knock.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo voices filled the hallway. Then came another knock-closer, gentler-on \u003cem\u003ehis\u003c\/em\u003e door. A woman entered like a quiet storm. And for the first time in what felt like forever, someone looked at him-not past him, not through him, but \u003cem\u003eat him.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd that changed everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this expanded second edition of \u003cem\u003eOakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers\u003c\/em\u003e, Dr. Keyimani L. Alford reopens the door to a past shaped by instability, silence, and survival-and walks readers through a journey of reclamation. From the hills of East Oakland to the rivers of Milwaukee, this isn't just a story of what he lived through. It's about what he learned, lost, and continues to uncover.\u003c\/p\u003eWhat's new in this edition?\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA soul-shaping fishing trip with Aunt Grace that brings clarity to the meaning of love and legacy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA moment of truth when coming out to his mother-followed by silence that lasted longer than the words\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe ache of losing community in a church once filled with belonging, and the surprising return of faith\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe weight of generational scars, and the slow rebuilding of identity beyond survival\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eHills\u003c\/em\u003e represent what he tried to outrun: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAddiction. Hunger. Abuse. A mother's slow fade behind a closed door.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eRivers\u003c\/em\u003e represent what carried him forward: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAunties who showed up. Friends who stayed. A boy who learned to find hope in the gaps.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is for those who: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSat on the floor as children, wondering if anyone would come\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrew up learning to stay quiet so they wouldn't get hurt\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCarry identities that never fit neatly in one box\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAre still learning how to forgive-and still unsure if they can\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWant truth. Not polished, not perfect-\u003cem\u003ebut honest\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003eEarly Praise for the Second Edition\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"The additions around Aunt Grace and identity brought me to tears.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"This book handed me back pieces of myself I didn't know I had lost.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the Author\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"I didn't write this from the finish line. I'm still healing, still becoming. But I believe there's purpose in that. I wrote this for the child in me-and the version of you who still needs to hear: You are not too broken to be whole.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers\u003c\/em\u003e isn't just a memoir. It's a mirror. A reckoning. A declaration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's not about who Keyimani was-it's about who he's becoming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it dares you to ask the same of yourself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Keyimani L. Alford\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798992086997\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Keywords Unlocked\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 254\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.12lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d","brand":"Keyimani L. Alford","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47040138510591,"sku":"9798992086997","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_db817554-e0cb-4268-bdfc-26ba863e430f.jpg?v=1752753672","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/oakland-hills-milwaukee-rivers-keyimani-l-alford-9798992086997","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}