Photo courtesy of Jacob Grovey.
On and off over the last two years, Jacob Grovey has been working on a book about the neighborhood that shaped him. Not only to share parts of his life, but to share the accounts of the people that surrounded him.
Grovey said that with everybody knowing the neighborhood of Oak Cliff there often came negative reactions. Because of this, he wrote his upcoming book Oak Cliff to show more about the neighborhood.
“I just went into the mindset of knowing people have an idea of what they think happens and who people from Oak Cliff really are and I need to let them know that we are more than what they think,” he said.
What Grovey describes as a “fictional memoir” follows the story of Damian as he becomes a man, through love and loss, wins and failures. What is central to the story is never turning his back on where he’s from.
The story is of perseverance and being able to overcome obstacles that many would find too difficult to face. Just like the roots of Damian in the upcoming book, Grovey doesn’t forget where he’s from and what he has faced.
“I got into writing because of my teacher in elementary school. She actually inspired us to write when we thought we actually didn’t like writing. And so I started with that,” he said.
His first book detailed personal accounts of his life, and through this upcoming book he is taking inspiration from those very accounts to share a new story. He said that through his writing he wants to let people know that at your highest or lowest point nothing that you’re going through is just for you.
“The things that you deal with are so other people can hear your testimony,” he said. “They can be inspired by your good points and they can also know to keep moving in spite of obstacles that they faced.”
Grovey will be in Dallas for the book release at the Pan-African Connection on Nov. 15 from 1 to 3 p.m.
