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MICHAEL O. EWING was born in a family who on the both sides migrated North during the Great Migration. Each side of the family experiences the trauma and hardship of navigating Jim Crow. Those traumas played out in health, physical and mental and social leading to IV drug use, incarceration, and death. Reared in Chicago, Illinois, and educated through the Chicago Public School system. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, with a Bachelor degree in Education. Ewing currently resides in Chicago with his wife Valerie J. Ewing; both retired with eleven grandchildren from five children. This publication is the first of his written books to be published.

One That Got Away speaks to his realization that he had options throughout his life Opportunities to take actions that would either propel him toward a destiny of repeating mistakes or of creating a new direction. In some cases, the steps he took were not the results of thought or preconception; instead, they were involuntary. Results from those actions prevented him from going down the road traveled by family members that led to crime, drug use, and incarceration to create a new path of hope for his progeny. The book covers his life from early childhood through early adulthood and share his victories. It demonstrates his realization that, indeed, he got away!

During Post-World War II the nation headed toward an era of technological advancement, including the Transistor Radio, Long-Playing Records, and Velcro. Apartheid begins in South Africa, and Israel becomes an independent state. Jackie Robinson’s achievements led to racial barriers being broken in other sports, and the U.S. Armed Forces were integrated.

Although advancement in technology race policies took place, the black family suffered from the ravages of racial discrimination with economic and social disadvantages building. The fabric of families began tearing apart, leaving them tattered and torn. Response to these circumstances led most to jail, drugs, or death.

Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed, “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Deep within each individual is a resource, a power when unlocked that created change. With the correct key, any door can be opened. So writes Michael O. Ewing, he shares his landing journey on the road of fortune, becoming One Who Got Away.