He Got That Package

Before Anthony Ellis discovered his niche for writing, he was a street hustler, a veteran drug addict, and a career criminal. Ellis was raised by a devoted mother in Jackson, Mississippi. His search for self began when he was a boy. During his early life, he felt empty, because his father was absent, plus, he was severely disciplined and humiliated often. After high school, he seemed to stare success squarely in the face when he enrolled in Jackson State University and joined The Sonic Boom. However, misfortune fell on him when he was introduced to crack cocaine; afterward, his life went down quick. He dropped out of college, moved to Memphis, Tennessee, became homeless, and a petty thief. His soul was lost for over four decades. He discovered he had the package, but a prison counselor helped Ellis break out of his mental prison. Then, miraculously, he had a spiritual reckoning, and he became free. He Got That Package is an autobiographical account of Anthony Ellis' life. This story was written while Ellis was being counseled for drug addiction in a Tennessee prison. When he was writing his memoirs, the demons in his past surfaced, then the healing process began; his rehabilitation flourished when he encounters a spiritual awakening which set him on a path toward resurrecting his life. Ellis was his mother's first born. Before he reached puberty, he was the leader and child baby sitter of his three younger sisters. He considered himself to be the black sheep in the family, because he felt personally taunted that his father never came around, because his sisters had a relationship with their father. His father's absence gave him on incompleteness that made him hate his father and eventually himself, causing Ellis to be consumed with emptiness and self pity. His inadequate feelings encouraged him to be mischievous, rebellious, and stubborn. After Ellis reached manhood, he continued to make bad choices, and became a drug addict and a habitual criminal. Ellis was in and out of prison for over twenty years; he discusses his prison experience with an openness that enlightens the reader about what it is like to be confined with men who hate themselves and others. He talks about gang issues, inmate domination, homosexuality, unsanitary facilities, pen pal love affairs, dilapidated structures, and the doggedness of prison life. Last, Ellis talks candidly about what it is like to be HIV positive in prison, which is a place where medical practices reveal one's medical condition. Sadly inmates who are HIV positive are shunned and humiliated. To his good fortune, Ellis reconciled with God, was set free, and found a new meaning to live. He Got That Package is definitely a page turner.