Boy Gone Crazy

"Boy Gone Crazy" tells the story of a child's struggle. His struggle with abuse, his struggle with depression and even his struggle to belong in a world that often took advantage of him. It tells the story of a victim, not just a victim of society but a victim of himself.

From the confines of foster homes to the beds of the men who took him in, these poems formed in his head and he painstakingly documented them on these pages. They speak of an innocence lost and a desperate need to be heard.

The craziness that surrounded him almost overwhelmed his attempt to better himself. Yet, he held steadfast onto something that no one could find - not even himself. In the end he stands in the current and shows to the world: this victim will rise.

"Joel R. Marshall wraps his soul around these poems with uncompromising passion and crafts a world full of hope." - Emanuel Xavier, editor of Bullets and Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry

"Joel R. Marshall succeeds in creating a collection of poems that shine with truth and vulnerability. This is about a boy who would become a man who learns to reach back in time to heal the child who was once damaged inside. Boy Gone Crazy is a testimony to the survivor that exists in all of us." - Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo