“What’s Your Story?” is a guest post feature on BCBA’s blog. Indie/Self-Published authors are invited to write about their books, writing journey, creative process, inspiration, rewards and challenges of publishing, etc. They can go in whatever direction they choose. We are excited and grateful for their willingness to share, and we hope you enjoy Gilbert Allen’s story. Go here for more WYS? posts.
When my brother Michael and I were toying with the idea of writing a children’s book, we kept talking about how hearing a story like ours could have made a difference for us when we were kids. Michael has been working as a teacher and then school principal for over a decade, and he was frustrated by the lack of Black representation in children’s literature. Then we stumbled across a study that found kids read more books with animals in them than Black people. We felt we had to do something, and so we decided to add our own voices.
Our book Brotherly Love tells the true story of how, when Michael was in college, he decided to take legal guardianship of me. I was a sophomore in high school. I called him up crying one day because I was struggling in school and then got suspended from the football team—the one and only thing I had been told that I was good at. Our mother wasn’t able to take care of me, and I simply didn’t have the support and guidance I needed to thrive.
What surprised us after the book was published was how quickly the adoptive community embraced it. At the time of this writing, Brotherly Love is #5 in the world on Amazon for books about Children and Adoption. We weren’t even thinking of it as an adoption story because we are biological brothers and because we were never technically in the foster care system (although, if the government had known what conditions we were living in, we would have been).
But it makes sense; so much of what adoptees and foster kids go through, we went through. When we did have a home, it was in the projects. It wasn’t unusual for us to come home from school and be told that we had to pack everything we owned (which wasn’t much) and drive hours to a new town, a new school. This is why we intentionally made the book very short—much shorter than most books for this age group because it had to be something a kid could read front to back on a bus or car ride.
When I went to live with Michael, the parallel with the experiences of adoptive and foster families continued. Michael had to become a parent, and it was far bigger than what he imagined. We both had to witness the emotions of our mother as she signed over guardianship. We had to adjust to a new and very different community, one that was mostly affluent and white. That meant they had very high-quality public schooling that assumes every student is going to college and prepares them for it, but that also meant—as you’ll see in the book—people were at times overtly racist toward us. I struggled with being seen. It was an emotional rollercoaster, and I often wanted to go back home. I was one bad choice away from being in foster care.
Because of Michael’s love and mentorship—which are the main themes of the book—I not only graduated from high school but went on to get a master’s degree in social work, and now I’m working on my doctorate. The experience set Michael on the path of earning a doctorate in education and becoming a principal. In 2020 he was named Elementary Principal of the Year. He is good at his job because he figured out, through parenting me, what tools children really need to overcome the kinds of obstacles I faced. Brotherly Love talks openly about these wellness tools: mindfulness, resilience, emotional regulation, and of course, mentorship.
So now, when we hear from adoptive and foster parents, “My child read this book, and it gave them some affirmation, validation, and hope,” we are moved. In our minds, we are operationalizing hope for these children. It’s the most satisfying and rewarding thing we’ve ever done, and we can’t wait for what comes next.
Michael Allen | Gilbert Allen | Tyrus Goshay | Tgosketch Illustration | September 28, 2020 | 55 Pages
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