Gerald, Casey
Casey Gerald comes to our fractured times as a uniquely visionary witness whose life has spanned seemingly unbridgeable divides. His story begins at the end of the world: Dallas
New Year's Eve 1999
when he gathers with the congregation of his grandfather's black evangelical church to see which of them will be carried off. His beautiful
fragile mother disappears frequently and mysteriously; for a brief idyll
he and his sister live like Boxcar Children on her disability checks. When Casey--following in the footsteps of his father
a gridiron legend who literally broke his back for the team--is recruited to play football at Yale
he enters a world he's never dreamed of
the anteroom to secret societies and success on Wall Street
in Washington
and beyond. But even as he attains the inner sanctums of power
Casey sees how the world crushes those who live at its margins. He sees how the elite perpetuate the salvation stories that keep others from rising. And he sees
most painfully
how his own ascension is part of the scheme.