2The principle that no child should be left behind is now codified in the laws of the United States, but Jefferson Wiggins grew up in a different United States, under a very different set of laws. From the night the Ku Klux Klan came to hang his father to the afternoon he received an honorary doctorate in recognition of his life's work, Jeff's memoir is a story of human triumph over adversity, a story of individuals who can and do make a difference in the lives of others. Most of all, his memoir reminds us of the extraordinary stories that often lie below the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. No reader can help but be moved to tears by this compelling, inspirational work.