First published 2018
Sherman Byrd grows up as the youngest son of sharecroppers in Jim Crow era Mississippi. Fed up with the oppressive laws that govern his daily life, he searches for God's plan for his future. Sherman watches and waits for divine guidance while death surrounds him in the segregated South. A sequence of events pushes him toward a path that few Black men had taken before. Choosing to rely on faith rather than what his eyes can see, Sherman enters the United States Navy. His spiritual journey leads him into explosive ordnance disposal work, one of the military's most perilous specialties. Sherman becomes a pioneer as the first African American to serve as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Diver. He rises through the ranks to Master Chief Boatswain's Mate while keeping silent about his dangerous missions. The unspoken code among bomb disposal divers forbids sharing war stories. Now Sherman's remarkable life emerges from decades of secrecy, revealing the selfless sacrifices and extraordinary achievements of a man who trusted God's sovereignty above all else.
Genres: biography, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, 21st-century, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: faith-over-sight, pioneer, self-sacrifice
Setting: Jim Crow Mississippi, United States
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
264 pages · Hardcover · BookBaby