Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

From one of Canadas most successful business leaders the founder of the BlackNorth Initiative and the newest and first Black Dragon in the Dragons Den comesa ragstoriches story that also carries a profound message of hope and change

Wes Hall spent his early childhood in a zincroofed shack one of several children supported by his grandmother That was paradise compared to the two years he lived with his verbally abusive and violent mother at thirteen his mother threw him out and he had to live by his wits for the next three years At sixteen Wes came to Canada sponsored by a father hed only seen a few times as a child and by the time he was eighteen he was out of his fathers house once more on his own Yet Wes Hall went on to become a major entrepreneur business leader philanthropist and changemaker working his way up from a humble position in a law firm mailroom by way of his intelligence his curiosity and his ability to see opportunities that other people dont

When people expected his thick Jamaican accent lack of money and education not to mention the colour of his skin to shut down his future Wes was not to be stopped He is still overturning expectations to this day Well aware of racism and injustice his lack of privilege and the other roadblocks to his success Wes has always believed that he can walk along any cliff edge without falling His book teases out and shows how he fostered that resolve in himself exploring his childhood and the milestone successes and failures of his career in order to share not only how he stopped himself from falling but survived and thrived and then dedicated himself to bringing his family and his community along with him

Now with the founding of the BlackNorth Initiative Wes takes aim at ending systemic antiBlack racism Its a huge goal but one hes tackling with heart soul smarts and every connection hes made in an extraordinary career thats taken him to the centre of the Canadian establishment Throughout his life hes resisted sinking into despair or getting lost in anger now he wants to tell truth to power and pave a path forward