I’m Possible: A Story of Survival, a Tuba, and the Small Miracle of a Big Dream

White, principal tubist at the New Mexico Philharmonic, salutes “the people who saved my life” in a plucky debut that charts his rise from the streets to the classical concert hall. He begins by reflecting on his homeless childhood as a Black boy in Baltimore, where he and his mother sometimes slept in abandoned buildings. His life turned around when he was adopted by foster-parents Richard and Vivian McClain and took up the tuba, sticking with the uncool instrument despite schoolyard taunts. Thus began years of training at the Baltimore School for the Arts (where classmate Tupac Shakur rapped with him), the Peabody Institute, and Indiana University. White’s is a classic tale of grit overcoming adversity with a big assist from tough-love—“‘I will come up to this school and whip your ass in front of the whole class if you don’t change your attitude,’” declared Vivian when he slacked off his studies in middle school—and the mentorship of great musicians. It’s also an evocative portrait of ambition and artistic aspiration: “I heard tuba like I had never heard tuba before,” White writes of being outplayed at an audition; “I left knowing what you must sound like to win.” The result is a vivid, inspiring saga of talent sprouting in unlikely places. (Oct.)