This is the story of a totally amazing life of a young black boy living through the horrors of dysfunctional neighborhoods of violence and drug dealers with a major side trip at the age of 12 (at the request of his own mother) to Virginia's juvenile facility of last resort. How can anybody survive that sort of upbringing and survive in a civilized society? Ryan did just that and not only survived but became a famous principal performer in the Statsoper Wien in Austria and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. This is a totally unbelievable story, but it is non-fiction. It really happened. This is a book that I had to set aside on several occasions because I became too emotional to continue. This story is a complete verification of the old saw that 'truth is stranger than fiction.'

I highly recommend this book whether you hate or if you love opera. The story is that of Ryan Speedo Green and is truly amazing.

I passed this book along to a friend who became interested when I told him about it as I was reading it. I now have three other people who have told me that want to read it when I get it returned to me.