Life of A King

Gary Stephen King II was in a dark place when he first put pen to paper. A former US Marine, King was idolized by a younger brother who, wanting to follow in his footsteps, joined the armed forces. The decision lead to the young man's death, leaving King devastated and guilt ridden. Poetry would help him navigate this dark period of his life. The poems within Life of a King reflect King's love for his brother, his friends, and his family while chronicling his own journey of self-examination. What begins with his brother's loss becomes an evocative, haunting assessment of his own strengths and weaknesses, detailing both how he sees himself and how others perceive him. King's poetry takes his readers from his relationship with his parents and the women in his life to the searing pain of his brother's death. Along the way, he touches on many other aspects of life-including his discovery of Christ and the assumptions society imposes on him as an African American man. The result is a painful, raw account of one man's inner landscape. Life of a Kingis not always easy reading, but then, heartfelt passion and emotion rarely are.