Fatherhoodlum: Chronicles of a Prison Dad (PB) (2014)

FatherHoodlum is the captivating story of Lamont B. Moody, who grew up in a Newark, New Jersey housing project, during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. At 18-years-old, he made his first trip to prison, and spent the next 10-years in and out of prison for parole violations and new offenses. After parole from prison in 1980, at age 28-years-old, he decided to start a new life 60-miles away from Newark in the city of Trenton, New Jersey. Shortly after parole, Lamont gains custody of his eight-year-old son, LJ, who was getting suspended from school and had also been arrested for burglary, back in Newark. He brings his son to live with him in Trenton. He was determined that LJ would not become just another black boy being primed for the prison system. FatherHoodlum is a poignant novel, which brings the reader through a journey down the corridors of street life and then uplifts the reader with restored hope and faith in one man's determination and commitment to overcome his past and become a positive and outstanding role model and guide for his son. This story has a spirit that the reader can feel. This story transcends the literal environment and setting into a connection which readers of any background can identify. Jackson infuses an atmosphere of hope and inspiration in his novel. Jackson reveals the often overlooked and perhaps misunderstood three dimensional feelings, concerns, hopes, dreams and conflictions of an ex-felon. This novel engages the reader in an uplifting journey.