Jerald Hoover- Literary Role Model

A young lad sits and waits at the basketball court for his dad to come and take him on in Basketball. He waits and before long, he realizes that his dad won’t be coming. It takes him years to get over the hurt and anger. Little does he know that pain will produce power and result in many books and opportunities coming his way. The same can be said for Jerald Hoover.

Jerald Hoover was born December 3, 1965 in Bronx, New York. He first started writing while in the fourth grade, but started his novel October 17, 1983. The purpose of his writing was to inspire everyone, particularly young people, to steer clear of drugs and alcohol.

The reason Jerald came up with this idea was marred with tragedy. Having watched his drug and alcohol abusing father wither away to almost nothing, made him undertake the vision to inspire everyone to “Just Say No”. In the process, Jerald has won several awards, one from the Literary Society in Hampton, Virginia and the other from President Bill Clinton's Writers Corp.

Unfortunately, there were more tragedies that Jerald had to endure because of substance abuse.

He has lost several family members:
• His grandfather in 1967, to alcohol related poisoning at the age of 45.

• His aunt (one of two sisters), in 1986 to alcohol related poisoning at the age of 46 (she weighed approximately 65 pounds at the time of her death)

• His father eventually died in 1989 at the age of 43.

• His second aunt died in 1987, to alcohol related poisoning, just three months to the day of her husband's death; a 47 year old man, who was once robust and rugged, weighing nearly 300 pounds, wasted away to a mere 150 pounds because of alcohol poisoning. When she died at age 46 she weighed 70 pounds.

• Finally, his grandmother who had out lived them all died at 63 years old, also from alcohol poisoning. Since her death, he has lost more paternal family members: two first cousins from AIDS – they were sharing needles with other drug addicts, neither of them reached their 40th birthday.

Jerald Hoover indeed has a story to tell. Having been reared in the church (he is a lifelong member of the United House of Prayer for all People) he was taught and directed at an early age to know the difference between right and wrong. Thus, he has put the pressure on himself to stay sober and strong, he offers no excuse to become involved with drugs and alcohol.

Jerald cares very much for the state of the young people of today and tomorrow. Having grown up in a single parent household in the projects of Bronx and Mount Vernon, New York and being the older brother to two sisters (one he lived with and the other from his father's second marriage). His book is not only a powerful message, but it is also a study guide with essay questions and topics for discussion.

Now, with his vision finally a reality, Jerald frequently visits schools and churches. He is a Boy's Club mentor, a member of Concerned Black Men, and a freelance writer for several sports columns via Internet and a local community newspaper. In his visits to schools and churches, Jerald often conveys a message of hope to the students.

He constantly exhorts them to stay as far away from drugs as possible, and to stay in school and strive for as much as they can. Last but not least, he pleads with them to avoid the pitfalls of peer pressure and to learn how to be led in a position directed by their own minds. Having never gotten high or drunk himself, Jerald enjoys the essence of sobriety.



Jerald is a musician in church; he has been playing his trombone for over 37 years. He is also a Sunday school teacher and an aspiring minister at 43 years of age. Jerald is a dedicated father and very often serves as coach or manager for the Little League, track and basketball teams his 17- year-old son Jordan plays on. Jerald has started a non-profit organization called, The Write Mind Foundation to help inner city youth with literacy.

I am Proud to say that I had the opportunity of interviewing Jerald and I must say, He is a man on a Mission. Let’s take a look:

Let me first say, it is an honor to interview a brother of your caliber.
Thank you so much Darian. It’s my pleasure.

Where do you hail from?
I'm from Mount Vernon, NY by way of the Bronx, NY. I sort of claim both as a home residence.

After reading some excerpts from your books, what is it about your writing that makes your work different from any other author?
Well, my books are heavy message laden. Some messages are subtle and within the story line, but some stick out and are more blatant. I do not use harsh words or profanity, yet the voices are real and they make sense. But, most of all the voices are REAL and readers can identify with them all.

I'm most proud of that, especially when I consider that I wrote this book way back when, I was 17 years old and in my last year of high school. It took me as you may have read 9 years to get published and that was over 18 years ago. So this story has been with me for nearly 30 years and Schools and Young People alike still gravitate to the book and its message. Thank God for that!



Absolutely!!! We are living in perilous times. How do you as an African America handle the stigmas attached to African American writers?
Yes we are, this world is totally upside down. I pride myself on being an author, but an author/writer with a responsibility to deliver a message in the right way.... giving God the honor and Glory that HE deserves and in that process, helping HIS people.
Who are some of your Role Models?
One is my grandfather, may he rest in peace. He was a hard working man and drove a tractor trailer for nearly 20 years to support his family. Anything that I and my cousins needed or even wanted when we were young he provided for us. We didn't have our father's around so he took on that task to become such.

Secondly, I admire certain religious leaders that are doing the right thing for God's people. And thirdly, I would say that I admire any father that is striving to take care of his children, whether he's with the mother or not!

Fantastic and Well Said! Tell our readers what motivates you daily?

Basically being able to do things better on the tomorrow than I did on the yesterday. That's the blessing of still having breath in the body and energy and life in the limbs.

As you state on your website, you have experienced huge losses. How did you handle the tragedies?

God blessed me with an Outlet: Sports! I was a big basketball and baseball fan growing up. Also as you can see, I write. I started my first book while in the 3rd grade. That book was titled, “I Was a Sad Boy”, and that was written because I was hurting over the fact that my mother and father broke up and I missed him.

Little did I know that I was performing therapy on myself by using writing as a positive outlet. I also play trombone in church and have been doing such for now 38 years. I'm 44 now, so with me being around other young men my age, we all grew up together in our church band. That has had a HUGE impact on my life.

What would you say to that person who wants to write but doesn’t have anyone around to encourage them?

Start walking the walk and working at it and something will happen and trust me that someone will come around to aid you. It almost ALWAYS happens but, if you stand still and sulk about who's not around to help and you do nothing. Start Marching and someone will come thru to help you keep your shoe laces tied. Simply Put, “GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES!”

It’s refreshing to see Positive African American Males making a difference in the community. Jerald Hoover is a one Man Army who is determined to make a Lasting Impression on this World. That makes him a Role Model for Many.

www.jeraldhoover.com