Download or read book Defeating the Odds: The Journey of a Convicted Baltimore Drug Dealer written by Sean Matthews and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sean grew up impoverished in Baltimore's housing projects where he witnessed unspoken violence, murder, open-market drug dealing, and apathy. While he was able to evade the attractions of his immediate environment by studying and using school as a means of escape, it was inevitable that he and countless others ultimately became a product of the environment. At the age of 16, Sean begins his stint as a drug dealer and when his life began taking on an identity of its own. He was given the nickname "Slimmy" and school was no longer an option. Teaming up with Bodie, the notorious drug kingpin from "The Wire," Sean found himself knee-deep in the drug game and aligned with some of the city's premier gangsters. By the time he was 17, Sean had been arrested twice and shot in the stomach where he faced certain death. Just before his 18th birthday, he would be arrested for the third and final time as part of a larger city initiative to round up known drug dealers including Bodie, Ronnie Moe, and Vitto, my "rap buddies." Sean was handed a ten-year sentence and would not see the streets again until he was 21. Upon his release, Sean understood that prison wasn't where he wanted to spend his life. He clearly understood that he had been given a second chance at life and he was going to take advantage of the opportunity. Armed with just a prison-earned G.E.D Sean would spend his next two decades proving to the sentencing judge, society and himself that one is not and should not be limited by his/her past. Sean just didn't defeat the odds, he actually denied the odds. He would go onto land employment with corporate firms as a web technology leader and often supervising small teams where he was the only minority and the only non-degree holder. While at Lockheed Martin, Sean received a number of performance awards including The President's Award. He later joined a marketing firm where he spearheaded the development of the web department that he ultimately grew into a 2 million-dollar business. This book will modify your thinking and perceptions of ex-cons, and what can be achieved when given the opportunity to do so. Though the odds were stacked up against him, Sean's commitment, drive and family support allowed him to overcome the stereotypical persona of an ex-con and achieve what many may see as unthinkable. Based on statistics, Sean should be dead or incarcerated with a hefty sentence but either was an option for him but defeating the odds was!