Author: Wes Moore

Why is it that two people growing up in similar circumstances can end up on completely different paths?

In this case, one became a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House fellow and business leader while the other is serving a life sentence. Both share the same name, but their narratives veer off sharply during their youth.

The bulk of this book is one Wes Moore reaching out to the other in an attempt to find the answer to the above question. Both their fates could have been much different and this book is a discovery process to find out where it all went right or wrong.

There is no clear answer and even Moore admits to this at the end. However, this did not upset me as I finished because there was a lot more to mine from these two stories to give a societal look at what happened. Yes, there’s autonomy in the decisions you make about your own life, but if you’re in a position where you feel those choices are limited… the autonomy is stripped away.

From the perspective it was told, there’s no one size fits all solution either. While one Wes Moore went to military school where he learned discipline, respect and was given opportunities not afforded to him in his neighbourhood, it’s unclear whether this path would’ve worked for the other Wes.

While this book won’t answer any questions in a clear way, it’s a fascinating account of how two lives that seem so similar can end up so different.