Author(s): Gregory Boyle (Contribution by)

Self-Help / Motivation

Over the past thirty years, Gregory Boyle has transformed thousands of lives through his work as the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang-intervention program in the world. The Whole Language shows how, in a community struggling to overcome systemic poverty and violence, those at Homeboy Industries fight despair and remain generous, hopeful, and tender. When Saul was thirteen years old, he killed his abusive stepfather in self-defense; after spending twenty-three years imprisoned, he enters the Homeboy Industries training and healing programs and embraces their mission. Saul shows tenderness toward the young men in his former shoes, treating them all like his sons and helping them to find their way. Before coming to Homeboy Industries, Abel was shot thirty-three times, landing him in a coma for six months. He now travels with Boyle and gives guided tours around the Homeboy offices. One day a new trainee joins Abel as a shadow, and Abel recognizes him as the young man who had put him into a coma. "You give good tours," the trainee tells Abel. Bursting with encouragement, humor, and hope, The Whole Language invites us to treat others-and ourselves-with acceptance and tenderness.