When Coss Marte went to prison, he was overweight, and a doctor had warned him that his health could cut his life short. Before his arrest, Marte had been running a multimillion-dollar drug operation on New York’s Lower East Side. Now he was behind bars, dealing with the consequences of his choices and a serious … Read more
During his final year of high school, Everette Taylor was sleeping in a car that didn’t even run. He was still trying to finish school in Richmond, Virginia, but he didn’t have a reliable place to live. When he needed somewhere safe to spend time, he often went to the Broad Rock Branch Library. There, … Read more
In 1976, Lillian Lincoln Lambert walked into her boss’s office expecting to discuss the small cleaning company she had started on the side. Instead, she walked out knowing she was about to lose her job. Lambert had been honest with her employer about her plans. She didn’t want him hearing from someone else that she … Read more
Long before Eren Ozmen became the owner of an aerospace company worth billions, she was cleaning its offices at night. She was a graduate student from Turkey, studying for her MBA at the University of Nevada, Reno. Money was tight, and she worked several jobs to pay her expenses, including making baklava to sell at … Read more
At 15, Inocente Izucar was preparing 30 paintings for her first major art show in San Diego. She had spent much of her childhood moving between homeless shelters, temporary apartments, and friends’ homes. Yet her paintings were filled with bright colors, playful creatures, and strange, wonderful faces. She even painted her own face, creating colorful … Read more
Joe Roberts once pushed a shopping cart through Vancouver while living on the streets. He used it to collect cans and bottles, trying to earn enough to get through another day. On May 1, 2016, he stood in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with another cart in front of him. This time, he planned to push it … Read more