"I wanted to read What I Know For Sure because I've read several of Tavis Smiley's previous books - How to Make Black America Better, The Covenant - and I wanted to read it because I was very interested in finding out more about him. I sort of knew the work that he does in terms of journalism, some of the interviews he's done. When I found out that What I Know For Sure was a memoir, I was very interested in just finding out a little bit more about this person that I hold in pretty high esteem.
Tavis Smiley is an African-American journalist, has a radio and a television show in public radio and on PBS. He certainly is controversial, and I love to hear all the controversy around him.
There were lots of favorite moments in the reading of this book. One of my favorites, hearing him tell about going to the University of Indiana with absolutely no money, with no admittance, he had a letter saying, "Yes, you can come," because he did very, very well in school. So he got an acceptance letter, but his parents refused to fill out financial aid forms. Hearing him tell the story of actually getting admitted was one of my favorite parts.
I would have wanted a little bit more. There were certain levels that I think that maybe he didn't go to; but then as I look at someone only 42 years old writing a memoir, maybe that's all the levels there are right now. What I Know For Sure certainly transcends race. There are - I think anyone breathing could gain inspiration, motivation, maybe even some clarity about how to approach things from this book; and that was another thing that Tavis did during the book is that while it's his story and his experience is certainly that of a black male in America, it wasn't a story that's just unique to him. Another five-star rating for this book. I'm very, very glad that he did decide to write this book."
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