Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream

Description

BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD FINALIST
ONLINE BOOK CLUB’S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

An inspirational and compelling memoir of a young black man who grew up in abject poverty and rose to become one of the world’s pre-eminentscientists in the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Frank L. Douglas was raised in the small South American country ofGuyana. Suffering under the weight of poverty, Douglas faced severechildhood trauma, often questioning his place in his family and yearning for acceptance. Despite these obstacles, Douglas excelled academically, showing great promise at school and winning multiple awards.

In 1963, two weeks before Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic March onWashington, twenty-year-old Douglas arrives in the United States as aFulbright scholar. A curious and motivated young man, Douglas wasshocked by the racism he received from white Americans and the culturalprejudice he received from black Americans. Struggling with his faithand identity, Douglas became the master of his own fate through grit,hard work, and the road less travelled. He went on to complete his Ph.D. and M.D. from Cornell University, and a residency in Internal Medicineat Johns Hopkins.

In his career, Douglas continued toclimb the ranks of academia and made significant discoveries in thepharmacology field. He established the Center for Biomedical Innovationat MIT and received the George Beene Foundation Award, GQ Magazine’sRock Star of Science Award, Black History Maker Award and the NationalOrganization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists andChemical Engineers Lifetime Achievement Award. He has continued tochampion the cause of African American students, having never forgottenhis own roots in a poverty-ridden, politically conflicted homeland. Themeaning of his name–Frank being Celtic for “free man” and Douglas beingScottish for “from a black stream”–has become his personal banner.

Defining Moments of a Free Man from A Black Stream is a brilliant memoir of race, pain, survival, hard work, and one man’s remarkable ability to take control of his own destiny and achievesuccess. It is a deeply moving story from a powerful new voice who hassteadily defied expectations–and whose story inspires us to do the same.