In Pursuit of the Speckled Gum Ball (Hardcover)

Four year old Hiram Myers carried his black doll everywhere and didn't understand what the depot stationmaster in rural Missouri meant when he called him "White trash," so he asked his Negro friend, Henry Crain.On the streets of Detroit, he remembered what the old man had said, still the words faded and the fulfillment of the boy's wish became only a dream. Then in a corner of the Browning Street basement he recalled with longing the gentle black man, while his father, in alcoholic madness, crushed his hand in a sadistic grip. He discovered a different path to escape the drunkenness and brutality of his home, but another obstacle, devious and powerful, blocked his way-a man who hated him. Then a twist of fate provided one more chance. When Hiram stepped forward to accept the reward that would set him free, the words of his old black friend came rushing back, "You ain't no white trash-never will be."