Baltimore Author Wes Moore Shares His Story With Local Middle Schoolers

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — With his first book about two men with the same name who took drastically different paths, Baltimore author Wes Moore had an instant bestseller.

Now as Mike Schuh reports, he's giving back to his hometown.

Wes Moore knows a thing or two about navigating life's labyrinth. And at the Pratt, it's knowledge he's passing on.

His book, "The Other Wes Moore" looks at his life and that of another Wes Moore from Baltimore, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for the murder of off-duty Baltimore County cop Bruce Prothero in a botched jewelry store robbery.

It's been for years since his book was released. Immediately his story of different choices, decisions and consequences became a New York Times bestseller. He connects on the page and in person.

"What did you want people to know about this story, it's really this phrase right here: it's the chilling truth that his story could have been mine," Moore said.

At his core, he believes you should make a mark in this world.

"You cannot understand my story without understanding the role that education played in it," Moore said. "And the other one is expectations. I remember Wes once said to me, I asked him: 'Are we products of our environments?' And he then looked at me and he said 'actually, I think we are products of our expectations.' And as soon as he said it I thought to myself 'he's absolutely right.'"

An indelible mark he's leaving with the students of Baltimore.

"What is our journey and what is our bigger role in this journey?" Moore asked.

He says make sure it matters you were ever here. Who among these 200 middle schoolers will respond? The answer may not be known for years, or decades.

"My sister once said to me, she said her definition of hell would be one day God showing her everything she could have accomplished had she only tried," Moore said.

His next book, which picks up where the first left off, is due in January.

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