There Is An Urgency (Paperback)

~ Gregrhi Arawn Love (Author)
Key Phrases: Tookie Williams, Greg Love, Charlie's Angels (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Born into a world of horror, madness and chaos in 1973 to Debbie, a 23-year-old drug addicted prostitute and Howard, a 24-year-old addict and convict, Gregrhi Love grew up quickly with the Department of Children's Services becoming an active part of his life in 1974. With Howard in prison, the only father he knew as a child was Bobby, his mother's pimp, drug dealer, and lover. In 1980, he was placed in his first foster home. While foster care was often horrifying, nothing compared to the daily near-death experiences he survived living in Father Panik Village with Bobby and Debbie. On May 23, 1980 his coerced testimony sent Debbie to prison.
Now a grown man, Mr. Love uses his childhood traumas to change lives. Working as a teacher allows him to use the experiences of his life to help children who live in a similar world. His experiences give him a perspective most people do not have and knowledge that cannot be obtained from any textbook. There Is An Urgency explores these experiences in an effort to make others aware that people like him walk among us every day.
There Is An Urgency is inimitable in that it juxtaposes Mr. Love's experiences as an adult, working with children in school and juvenile detention settings, with personal accounts of physical and sexual abuse from his childhood. There Is An Urgency to share this story of hard won hope and resilience after years of terrifying abuse by a real life monster.

About the Author

After a series of misguided choices, missteps and false starts, Greg Love moved to Tennessee in 1995 to attend college and earn a degree in Art Education. Before attending his first class he had gotten a job as an assisted-living caregiver at a local non-profit. Mr. Love worked as a live-in caregiver, providing daily training in adaptive living skills and community involvement for a series of men diagnosed with a variety of disabilities while earning his undergraduate degree.
Working with the men on such an intimate basis required him to dig deep within himself to discover the depths of his abilities and when he did he found that he possessed patience and a tenderness he did not know existed. He duly changed his major from art education to special education and discovered a new purpose in life. When time came to do his student teaching he felt as if it were his reward for all of the hard work he had done in college. While student teaching Mr. Love had the privilege to work in a school with a behavior intervention program, where he spent a lot of time. Mr. Love knew then that his life experiences, behavioral intervention experiences working for the non-profit, and university training would culminate helping underserved children in an alternative behavior setting.
After earning his Bachelor's degree in Special Education in 1999, he stayed on as a caregiver until he went to work as a teacher in the fall of 2000. He has been teaching at-risk and hard-to-reach students ever since and becomes more passionate about it every day. He has since earned a Master's degree in education. Mr. Love is currently living the quiet, normal life he has always wanted in Tennessee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Cwn Annwn Publishing (January 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982307403
• ISBN-13: 978-0982307403
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #386,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!!!, March 16, 2009

By	Kevin (Glyndon, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Having known the author for a short time in high school, I was absolutely stunned at the horrendous level of abuse he suffered. This compelling work has made me re-evaluate my interactions with everyone I encounter in my life, especially my wife and children. Thank you Greg!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful book, March 16, 2009

By	James (Tulsa) - See all my reviews

I have been working with children for almost 20 years. The pain and abuse brought out in this book is unimaginable, but I would suspect more common than we think. Hard to believe a human being could survive such abuse, let alone become such an amazing role model. I have read the book 3 times now, and it is just as raw and gripping as it was the first time

James

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible but true, April 6, 2009

By	Tracy K. Cabanis (NY, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This heart-wrenching narrative, as incredible as it seems, is utterly believable. The various incidents described keep coming back to mind weeks after reading them. This is a book full of pain and hope that will stay with you forever. Every adult should read it -- it opens a door to a world most of us will never know and enhances our awareness of our own life and those lives around us. A MUST-READ!