Work with What You Got

Professional athlete Zion Clark (b. 1997) chronicles his childhood navigating the Stark County, Ohio, foster care system in this motivational memoir. Clark—who was born without legs due to caudal regression syndrome—entered foster care after being surrendered at birth by his mother. Via concise, honest text, Clark recounts how he was “fortunate to have two early foster homes... that were so good” but maintains that constant uprooting and a lack of consistent adult figures led him join a gang, where, he writes, he found the closest thing to family he ever had. After years of being labeled a “problem child” (“That’s what happens when you grow up in a violent, unstable world,” he asserts), he was adopted by Black foster parent Kimberlli Hawkins, whose support and religious teachings helped him develop a strong sense of belief in himself. Clark’s forthright recollections of wrestling with the “dual stigma of being disabled and being Black,” and how overcoming his adversities prompted him to support others’ endeavors to face their own, presents an illuminating look at the trials of one person maneuvering the foster care system, and details his views that community support and faith are the key to navigating life. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)