“Everything Will Be All Right,” Douglas Wallace’s memoir, has given me a whole new perception of the reality and emotional scars of alcoholism, abuse, and violence resulting from life in the streets, with the accompanying cycle of generational poverty. Born into poverty in the rural South, the Wallace family moved from one small town in the backwoods of upstate Tennessee to another, as their alcoholic father drifted from job to job. In 1955 Doug’s father uprooted his family to move to an industrial neighborhood in Granite City, Illinois in hopes of increased employment opportunities.
The familiar patterns of frequent job changes and rental evictions did not change. The family soon moved back to Tennessee and ultimately settled in East Nashville. Wallace, the third born of the eight Wallace children, reveals the lessons he learned and the social dynamics which are determined from the environment, the streets of East Memphis, the deplorable conditions of the massive government housing projects, and the danger and risk of showing fear. Wallace stated it this way, “I acted like a tough street kid, but inside I was a scared person desperately wanting out of the environment.” He told of his disappointment when his older brother was forced to drop out of high school to help support the family because of the devastating poverty and a despicable alcoholic father, who couldn’t hold a job to support his family.
At the age of twelve on the way home from a visit with his brother to a local church “revival,” Doug had a religious experience that impacted his life. From that point forward he often heard and responded to an inner voice assuring him, “Everything Will Be All Right.” Early in his childhood he purposed with determination to become an attorney. He never lost this vision. Doug candidly recounts the struggles he faced as he persevered in following his dream to fruition.
Wallace’s writing conveys the close-knit bonding of deep family ties and of his loyalty to a caring mother. His suffered the discomfort, difficulty, determination, and personal sacrifice to adjust to the expected norms of a middle-class society. This embarrassment was yet another hurdle Doug had to overcome in the discovery and formation of his personal identity. He served in the Army in Viet Nam. Later he took a full-time job and college night classes. These challenges were only a part of Wallace’s journey to fulfilling his dream of becoming a licensed attorney.
Doug chose to write his story of growing up in poverty in an effort to call attention to the unimaginable hardships for the generationally impoverished. It is his hope that his story will influence his readers to overcome the seeming insurmountable obstacles they face with the same resolute will, unrelenting drive, and indomitable faith that empowered him.
“Everything Will Be All Right” turns circumstances to vision, vision to purpose, purpose to perseverance, and perseverance to accomplishment. Douglas Wallace’s story is disturbing and unforgettable with an inspiring message of hope for any one struggling to raise themselves above their circumstances.
Everything Will Be All Right
Douglas Wallace
Greenleaf Book Group Press (2009)
ISBN 9781608320042
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (9/09)
Recent Comments