Authorpreneur Dashboard – Albert Race Sample
RACEHOSS: Big Emma's Boy
Biographies & Memoirs
This book is the autobiography of my late husband. The language he uses is harsh and raw, as was his life. Sugar coating or portraying it any other way would not be a truthful depiction. Born in the South in 1930 the mixed-race product of a black prostitute and white cotton broker, Race grew up an abused outcast on a straight path to the penitentiary. Labeled “an incorrigible, unsalvageable human being” in his early 20s by the Texas Prison Board, he was sent to a brutal prison plantation known as “the burnin’ hell” where he witnessed unbearable brutality, which he recounts in awesome detail in the pages of this stunning book. It is told in all its stark reality, but without rancor or bitterness. After a profound spiritual awakening in solitary confinement, his future changed dramatically — “My life was spent in darkness. And then there was Light.” Race was released in 1972 after serving 17 years and soon became a prominent voice in the field of corrections. His message to the correctional institutions was focused on treatment: “Treat a man with dignity and respect. Treat him as you want him to be.” He went on to become the first ex-convict in Texas to work out of the Governor’s Office. Although my husband passed away in 2005, his powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit continues to inspire and give hope to a new generation of readers.
Book Bubbles from RACEHOSS: Big Emma's Boy
And I got the blame.
“I wuz born in a lion’s den an suckled by a bear. I growed two sets uv jaw teefs an a double coat uv hair.”
The Good Life
Emma had what it took to make a good whore—guts, looks, and a knack for selling. She was bold and hard as nails, just right for the life she was living.
Hard Times
After her mother’s brutal murder, Emma’s childhood became a living hell—because she was different. Hardship and abuse were all she knew, and that’s exactly what she passed on to my husband—because he was different.
One lick is all it took.
A fateful wagon ride to church one Sunday morning in 1909 forever changed the lives of the Barnes family... and their descendants, of which my husband was one.
An inspired beginning
I remember when my husband had writer’s block coming up with a beginning for the book. He had finished the rest of it but still didn't have a beginning. That was difficult for him because it was about the early childhood of his mother, Emma. All he had to go on were the stories she told him when he was a boy. Around three in the morning he shook me awake, saying, “I got it. Put on a pot of coffee.” By the time the sun came up, Race had banged out “The Prelude” on his old Royal typewriter. My editing was not needed. For me, it was a perfect beginning and set the stage for his tumultuous life.
