Sample chooses to begin his story with an incident that happened to his mother when she was a child, an incident he believes set her own a course that led to his own abuse at her hands. His mother (Emma) saw her father kill her mother in an argument. She was subsequently raised by an abusive grandmother and eventually became heavily involved in prostitution and gambling. Albert was born on February 7, 1930, out of an adulterous relationship between his mother, an African-American, and a white local official. Albert's light skin coloring was the cause of much abuse that he took from the black children in his school; his mother took much of the rage forged in her childhood and expressed it in the abuse of Albert, who continued to seek her love even when it was clear she was incapable of giving him what he needed. Having no one to care for him or guide him, Albert ran away from home when he was 12 years old. He was eventually imprisoned for burglary and then violated his parole from that offense with an aggravated assault. He acknowledges that he was mean, hardened, and filled with rage inside; everyone was an enemy. He was treated brutally in the Texas prison where he was housed. He worked at hard labor in the cotton fields of the prison under a brutal prison guard who would shoot inmates for arbitrary personal reasons. Albert was frequently punished for his impudent behavior and eventually placed in solitary confinement, a cell without light or ventilation. While in solitary, his rehabilitation began. After praying desperately for some kind of help, he perceived the cell to be flooded with light, and he felt himself in the presence of pure love; he remembers hearing the words, "Tell others about me." This was the beginning of Albert's rehabilitation. Through his commitment to his education, he eventually became a journalist, who wrote about criminal justice issues. After his editorials came to the attention of the Texas governor, Albert managed a rehabilitation program for released offenders and became the State manager of community-based corrections in Texas. His most recent achievement is the writing of a biography of his life, in which he fulfills the request he received in his cell, that is, to tell others about the light that entered his prison.