Out of the Madness: From the Projects to a Life of Hope [Paperback]

Jerrold Ladd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996

The child of a heroin-addicted mother growing up amidst poverty, violence, and drugs in the ghetto of West Dallas, Jerrold Ladd was determined to lead a better life. Fiercely independent, he took responsibility for his future, and, with the love of his family, became the first person in his family to attend college and later a national spokesperson on inner city problems.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ladd's gutsy account of how he managed to beat long odds by escaping from the drug-ridden projects of his youth will receive a 75,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Expanding on a story he wrote for the Dallas Morning News, the 23-year-old Ladd provides a gritty look at the way things are for children of poverty. For Jerrold and his older brother and sister, their mother's heroin addiction is central: it drove their father out of their lives, makes their mother moody and violent, and destroys her relationships with the many men, both bad and good, who briefly share the family's homes. But dope, Ladd recognizes early, is a symptom, not the disease; it's the only way his mother and too many of his neighbors know to escape the pain and despair of their lives. Slowly, Jerrold explores alternative directions: reading voraciously; dropping in and out of school; stealing food when he's hungry and, in later years, more valuable goods for cash, but also taking on various demanding jobs; finally teaching himself to write for publication. This vivid, eloquent memoir demonstrates (in case we have forgotten) that impersonal abstractions like "the poor" or "the underclass" are composed of individual adults and children struggling to make some sort of sense of their lives. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446671053
• ISBN-13: 978-0446671057
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,928,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WINNING IN AMERICA - AGAINST ALL ODDS, October 2, 2000

By 

David C. Hall (West Bloomfield, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Madness: From the Projects to a Life of Hope (Paperback)

Excellent writing from a motivated and dedicated young man. Jerrold Ladd experienced disrupted education, a lack of early age positive male influence while proving first hand, that you can over come all obstacles and succeed in America.

It is a gut wrenching look into living in America's projects shortly after desegregation. It reminded me of the fact that life in America is not and has never been the same for everyone. For many, it is a living torture. Once you have read Out Of The Madness, you feel like you personally know the author. The author, Jerrold Ladd, tells an in-depth story about his life, his family (Mother, sister and brother) and some of his friends and associates. He provides an incredible amount of detail for a relatively short book (under 200 pages and large print). He allowed me to walk in his foot steps, feeling his disappointments, success's and failures. Each chapter presented intense quality of life and life treating situations that would test and potentially break the fiber of any man or woman. Jerrold exposes himself, his friends and associates in a bold and remarkable manner that allows you to actually feel his emotions. This book is a dead serious look at life within a segment of America, yesterday and today. The book reminds you that to many people (children and adults), needlessly, experience this and worst everyday. I recommend the book as a must read for everyone. My reason: This book provides an insight into a situation that many generations of Americans helped create. It gives motivation to those in similar situations and those that have not lived integrated into murder, drugs and abuse. Most of all, it proves, in America you can change your life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soul On Ice for the 1990's -- Raw and Real, July 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of the Madness: From the Projects to a Life of Hope (Paperback)

I read Out of the Madness July 23 - 25, 1999, and recognized a witness to a hard reality that many of us need to know about -- a reality I want to know about. A reality that tells me we have a long way to go if we're not feeding and protecting our children; and they're coming to school hungry and tired and dirty (and full of shame over these feelings). Sisters, Brothers, Mothers, Fathers, Aunts and Uncles, kindly people. There were many heroes in Out of Madness, black and white. There is love. We owe the writer a debt of gratitude for bravely exposing his vulnerability to save others. Ladd has an important message. M.A. Lightfoot Dallas, Texas

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of Curiousity..., March 23, 2000

By 

Donnie Cwik (Carmel, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Madness: From the Projects to a Life of Hope (Audio Cassette)

I am a freshman student at my high school, and was assigned to a book report... I then choose this book, yet not out of wantingness, but just to get something and be done with it. When I started this book, I was so amazed at the details, and way Jerrold lived, with such horrific times in his live from his living style, to growing up, and all the obstacles, and problems that occured in his life. It was so sad, yet you cant put it down.