Free to Dream

This book is the real story of three-time Grammy Award winning gospel artist and entertainer, Kirk Franklin. His song, "Lean on Me" won a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in 1999. He is the winner of numerous Stellar and Dove Awards, and every award that the gospel music industry has to offer. He is the winner of a 2003 Soul Train Award. He has performed in concerts in every major city in the United States. He has traveled worldwide, and has performed in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. With all attempts at sensationalism aside, what kind of background did this young prodigy really experience? This author knows because she was there. Fifteen years ago a skinny kid came into her class as a student. He had been adopted but she could tell that he missed his real mother. He spent a year in her class, and she worked with him and helped him to accomplish his learning goals. She could never replace his mother but would try to be a good substitute. There was something unique about this kid. She did not know that he would grow up to become a celebrity. Every day he would finish his assignments early, and come up to her desk and talk, and try to get her to smile. She answered his questions, encouraged him, and told him that he could grow up to become whatever he wanted to be. She praised him when he did well. At the end of the year he moved on, as kids do from year to year, and she thought she would never see him again. She never dreamed that he would come back into her life years later, and find her, traveling thousands of miles to make sure that she was all right.