Beyond the Fire and the Rain
My Journey
by
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I stood in the core of the fire that was hotter than ever, and I refused to submit before the most influential images in my life. The system of this world faced me like a golden calf set high on a throne for me to worship as if it were my God. I saw the church before me, with its laws and bylaws, its do’s and don’ts, its bigotry and hate, its scorn and pride and told it, “I won’t bow before your images, even if you threaten to hurt me. I saw every negative incident in my life and every person who despised and hated me for being whom I am and standing firm with conviction, telling the system, telling the world that controls and destroy people’s lives, “I won’t bow down to you, even if you try to kill me.” And I saw the many people who helped, loved and encouraged me, standing before me like faces in a mirror, and I said, “Thank you for your love and for not being ashamed of me, but reaching out to me, without gain for yourself on this earth.” My cocoon was made before I was born, before the foundation of the world, and God has protected me from the fiery furnace that this world is engulfed in. He promised me he would never leave me, and I believe Him. I understand like never before, like nothing else in my life, that it is more important to be willing to die for what is right, than to live for what is wrong. I was Dancing in Fire but now I am Beyond the Fire and the Rain.
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About the Book
In July 1978, Dr. Wilbert Williams Jr. was standing on a street corner in Brooklyn, New York, afraid for his life. It had been less than three months since he was awarded a medical degree from Albany Medical College in upstate New York; yet there he was—enduring racial slurs from a group of angry white people who hated him simply because of the color of his skin. Even as the police stood guarding him, the group continued to taunt him with the words, “He can go back where he came from.”
In his poignant memoir, Williams narrates the story of how he beat overwhelming odds, as an African American youth growing up in a public housing project in Brooklyn, New York, to eventually become a physician. While chronicling a journey that took him from the streets of New York through the challenges of medical school to the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Croix, he details how he learned to prevail over racism, anxiety, and depression in order to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.
Dr. Williams’s inspiring story offers motivation to soar over the challenges of life and reach for the stars.
About the Author
Wilbert Williams Jr., M.D., grew up in a public housing project in Brooklyn, New York; was awarded his medical degree from Albany Medical College in upstate New York; and has written four other books. He and his wife have seven children and live in the Virgin Islands, where he still practices medicine.