Book DescriptionDexter Scott King"s disarmingly candid memoir of growing up in the shadow of his father is now in trade paperback.Seven-year-old Dexter Scott King was in his family"s den watching television when a special news bulletin announced that hisfather, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been shot in Memphis. While the nation and the world mourned the death of one of the most important and powerful figures in history, the young son began what would be a lifelong personal journey of not only learning to cope with the loss of his loving father, but of exploring how best to make sure that his message and spirit lived on. Remarkably honest and emotionally intimate, this book offers a rare and touching look into what it is like to grow up as the son ofa world renowned hero.Download DescriptionDexter King, who would grow up to eerily resemble his legendary father, MLK, Jr., and display some of the same eloquence, was seven years old when an assassin"s bullet took his father"s life. The bond between father and son was a close one. For years afterward, Dexter was haunted by a memory of himself and his dad riding their bikes through Atlanta"s streets, and by his father"s full-throated laugh as he romped with the King children. Dexter tried to find couragein his father"s example of selfless heroism, but as his shattered childhood ripened into adolescence, the weight of "the King legacy" pressed down ever more heavily.Kept at arms-length by schoolchildren who weren"t sure what to make of the son of a secular saint, afflicted with undiagnosed ADD, and shell-shocked further by the assassination of his grandmother, Dexter stumbled warily into adulthood. Ironically, the wall that separated him from potential friends and girlfriends was sometimes comforting. Indistancing himself from others, he lessened the chances of loss.Only in his early 30s did he confront "the legacy" head on, and when he did, he discovered what his father was trying to tell him-and us-about what really matters. Replete with remarkable insights into what families of "fallen heroes" must contend with, as well as surprisingly intimate moments and fresh reflections on race in America, this is a truly extraordinary book. Показать