{"product_id":"oakland-hills-milwaukee-rivers-a-memoir-of-survival-identity-and-purpose-hardcover","title":"Oakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers: A Memoir of Survival, Identity, and Purpose - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKeyimani L. Alford\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWINNER, 2025 International Impact Book Awards (Family, LGBTQ+, Memoir)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if survival wasn't the finish line, but the moment everything finally demanded you tell the truth?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt began with a knock.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA slow, steady knock, calm, intentional. The kind that did not just interrupt a quiet Saturday. It altered everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the back room of a dim apartment in Oakland, a boy sat alone on a dusty carpeted floor, tracing shapes with his fingers, pretending they were roads to somewhere better. A black-and-white TV flickered to no audience. The bed sat off-center, tired and wrinkled. No dresser. No posters. Just silence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUntil that knock.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo voices filled the hallway. Then came another knock, closer, gentler, on his door. A woman entered like a quiet storm. And for the first time in what felt like forever, someone looked at him. Not past him. Not through him. At him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd that changed everything.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut some changes come with a cost.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Oakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers, Dr. Keyimani L. Alford opens the door to a life shaped by instability, silence, and the kind of responsibility a child should never have to carry. He takes readers into moments that rearrange you: standing in a funeral home for the last time, trying to say goodbye to a father you still needed... learning how to uplift the overlooked family member because nobody else would... and making decisions that quietly change the direction of your past.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom East Oakland to Milwaukee, this is not just a story of what he lived through. It is the story of what he learned, what he lost, and what he had to face to become whole.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside these pages, you will walk through unforgettable turning points: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA soul-shaping fishing trip with Aunt Grace that clarifies love and legacy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA moment of truth when coming out to his mother, followed by silence that lingers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe ache of losing community in a church that once felt like home\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe slow rebuilding of identity beyond survival\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Hills represent what he tried to outrun: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAddiction. Hunger. Abuse. A mother's slow fade behind a closed door.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Rivers represent what carried him forward: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAunties who showed up. Friends who stayed. A boy who learned to find hope in the gaps.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is for those who: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSat on the floor as children, wondering if anyone would come\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrew up learning to stay quiet so they would not get hurt\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCarry identities that never fit neatly in one box\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAre still learning how to forgive, and still unsure if they can\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWant truth. Not polished. Not perfect. Honest.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"I didn't write this from the finish line. I'm still healing, still becoming. But I believe there's purpose in that. I wrote this for the child in me and the version of you who still needs to hear: You are not too broken to be whole.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOakland Hills, Milwaukee Rivers is not just a memoir. It is a mirror. A reckoning. A declaration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is not about who Keyimani was. It is about who he is becoming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it dares you to ask the same of yourself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 254\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.69 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 06, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51884392874272,"sku":"9798992086997","price":35.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/257MgPcVZm9798992086997.webp?v=1781882384","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/oakland-hills-milwaukee-rivers-a-memoir-of-survival-identity-and-purpose-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}