Am I a Teacher?

This is a memoir about a man who makes a significant career change in his fifties. He goes from a successful career in the corporate world to being a new teacher in an inner-city public school, a teacher to children with autism. The story largely follows his first year of teaching as he struggles to take on the challenges, confrontations and frustrations of working in an environment so different than any he had ever known. It is a real-life drama about facing fear of failure and self-doubt, and overcoming them with perseverance, compassion, and humor. But that is only the surface. This book is not confined to describing life as a schoolteacher in "the hood." It is a story of one man's venture to reevaluate his purpose in life. It is a story of loss and redemption, and how a group of autistic children help him find himself.