Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised: A Memoir

In his debut, NBA All-Star Anthony shoots and scores with a gripping account of how he went from being “a Black kid from the bottom” to being a world-renowned pro athlete. Born in 1984, he spent his early years in Red Hook, a rough neighborhood where “pistols banged all day.” Despite having a loving family, daily life was perilous—his brother once escaped a shoot-out only because the armed drug dealers paused to let him pass. When Anthony was eight, his family moved to Baltimore’s housing projects. While life there was no less dangerous, Anthony turned his focus to honing his natural basketball talents in high school, became a “big college recruit,” and accepted a scholarship to play for Syracuse University, where he set an NCAA record for most points by a freshman and won a national championship. After one year in college, he entered the 2003 NBA draft and was drafted by the Denver Nuggets. Even with his enormous success, Anthony’s humility shines throughout his narrative: “For a Baltimore kid like me, making it to the NBA meant you had to be one of the top 453 players in the world... I had to weave around poverty, addiction, gunplay, and unresolved pain... But I did it.” Those in search of inspiration will find no shortage of it here. (Sept.)