*An extraordinary coming-of-age story, adapted from the adult memoir by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Water Dancer and Between the World and Me*'Ta-Nehisi Coates is the young James Joyce of the hip-hop generation' Walter MosleyThis was the abyss where, unguided, black boys were swallowed whole, only to re-emerge on corners and prison tiersTa-Nehisi Coates grew up in the tumultuous 1980's in Baltimore known, back then as the murder capital of the United States.With seven siblings, four mothers, and one highly unconventional father: Paul Coates, a larger-than-life Vietnam Vet, Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi's coming of age story is gripping and lays bare the troubled, often violent life of the inner-city, and the author's experience as a young black person in itWith candor, Ta-Nehisi Coates details the challenges on the streets and within one's family, especially the eternal struggle for peace between a father and son and the important role family plays in such circumstances.