The author's life has been blessed by her singular talents and her religious convictions. Growing up in Mississippi and Tennessee, she was one of thirteen children and the first of her brood to finish high school. She would go on to complete college and later attain both a master's degree and a doctorate. The chain of events that led to her successes has its beginnings in the uproar of the mid-1960s civil rights movement. A college student during the early rumblings of that era, she had an awakening when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in her home city. King's life and murder provoked her to join in his struggle, sustained by her connection to the A.M.E. Zion Church, with its legendary members Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. She began to work with those demanding grassroots change as civil rights issues escalated to the critical stage of black power and pride.

Mitchell's recollections are enlivened with photographs and quotations from her many scholarly articles, speeches, and sermons. She recalls her special connection to the renowned Howard Thurman, a Quaker universalist thinker she was privileged to meet and who influenced her philosophy, evoking much of her writings and charitable endeavors. Portions of her memoir describing visits abroad are especially moving, revealing her sensitivity to and depth of understanding of African folkways and how they infused black culture, sustained even by people held in slavery. Her involvement with the A.M.E. Zion Church heritage offers a fuller picture of what she wishes for her people. She clearly believes that God has guided her, helping and healing her in crucial times and steering her towards ever greater accomplishments. Her vibrant memories and admirable achievements can serve as inspiration for anyone setting out on the road of life and seeking examples to follow.

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