There Will Be No Miracles Here

A Memoir

By: Casey Gerald

Narrated by: Casey Gerald

Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The New York Times

A PBS NewsHour-New York Times Book Club pick

"Somehow Casey Gerald has pulled off the most urgently political, most deeply personal, and most engagingly spiritual statement of our time by just looking outside his window and inside himself. Extraordinary." (Marlon James)

"Staccato prose and peripatetic storytelling combine the cadences of the Bible with an urgency reminiscent of James Baldwin in this powerfully emotional memoir." (BookPage)

The testament of a boy and a generation who came of age as the world came apart - a generation searching for a new way to live.

Casey Gerald comes to our fractured times as a uniquely visionary witness whose life has spanned seemingly unbridgeable divides. His story begins at the end of the world: Dallas, New Year's Eve 1999, when he gathers with the congregation of his grandfather's Black evangelical church to see which of them will be carried off. His beautiful, fragile mother disappears frequently and mysteriously; for a brief idyll, he and his sister live like Boxcar Children on her disability checks. When Casey - following in the footsteps of his father, a gridiron legend who literally broke his back for the team - is recruited to play football at Yale, he enters a world he's never dreamed of, the anteroom to secret societies and success on Wall Street, in Washington, and beyond. But even as he attains the inner sanctums of power, Casey sees how the world crushes those who live at its margins. He sees how the elite perpetuate the salvation stories that keep others from rising. And he sees, most painfully, how his own ascension is part of the scheme.

There Will Be No Miracles Here has the arc of a classic rags-to-riches tale, but it stands the American Dream narrative on its head. If to live as we are is destroying us, it asks, what would it mean to truly live? Intense, incantatory, shot through with sly humor and quiet fury, There Will Be No Miracles Here inspires us to question - even shatter - and reimagine our most cherished myths.

©2018 Casey Gerald (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Stunningly original.... By breaking every rule of the...genre, [Gerald has] created something unique and sublime: a beautiful chronicle of a life as yet unfinished...a shining and sincere miracle of a book.” (NPR)

“Undeniably inspirational...a literary and often dark look at the effects the national virtue of self-reliance can have on the people who live according to it, with particularly moving passages about the atmosphere of stress, pain, and racial divides on college campuses.” (Vanity Fair)

“Infuriating and deeply moving.... It’s a rare memoirist who does not just recall, but inhabits the past, who understands that memory is a pliable thing, a means to, not the end of, a story.... There’s a bit of Barbara Kingsolver in this, a bit of James Baldwin...urgent, lyrical [and] timely.” (Texas Observer)

Wonderful

A wonderful book, beautifully written and told. The humor in the book pairs well with the sometimes heavy subject matter to make for a very compelling read. Highly recommended.

Real and raw confessions

Had every reason not to succeed. So hyper self conscious that it’s amazing he found a way to cope in order to not only survive but thrive. Better for sharing his story. Terrific job in delivering it! Thank you

Faith full journey

The author's southern Texas voice is reflected in his narration, with his various short tales paralleling the narrative defining his story with metaphors and euphemisms, providing the reader a unique insight into the personal life of the author.

The author's early childhood had many traumatic obstacles with an addicted father and an abandoning mother by his 13th birthday. His time living with a staunch religious grandmother caused a religious conflict within his belief as he traversed puberty while discovering his sexuality, to be awarded a football scholarship to attend an Ivey league university.

The author's life's journey with society's expectations of him being a Blackman, from a Dallas Suburb were successful expectations were not considered. He traversed life's obstacles to become an Ivey League graduate, a successful businessman, public speaker, and author.

The author is an intelligent, educated man who was presented and took the opportunities in life. However, he questioned the belief system of leaders, religions with the question of why?

His life's tale continues to unfold, and I look forward to reading the next chapter of his memoir.

Different, but just like me!

The Willie Lynch rules have destroyed so many of our lives. And those who seem to have risen above it all, are never understood to be read within the persona we present. I'm not gay, but I understand all of Casey's pain because I live it, all day, EVERY day. The world doesn't know or care to know "me", because it would prefer the persona God has given me, would die - or, at the least, learn my place and DIE! No one knows, I've been killed a thousand times each day, and that I am dead, just from being me. I'm a Black MAN in America, and I'm too smart for my own good - always have been.

Wish I could meet/talk to Mr. Gerald, a kindred spirit, though he would surely disagree. So, alone, I will continue my journey, as so many do, every day.

Great book, even better narration. It hits at the heart of being Black, Native American, people of color gay, disabled in America. Alive, but dead as we live!

Amazingly raw memoir

I am mesmerized by Casey Gerald...his story, his often poignant, often funny, always amazing turns of phrase. The concept that this is the authors first book is almost incomprehensible and at the same time, makes me eager to see how this young author and advocate will impact the world we live in. Purely incredible!!!

Brilliant story, future to reckon...

I saw the tv interview, and the man told how his mother had disappeared, and how death would have been a more acceptable and explainable report. Casey Gerald’s estimation of our chances for a sustainable future is uncertain, but I’d chose him to lead me if only we had that option. Just wait.

Casey is a light

This book is so courageous. Casey writes and reads in a voice I can’t erase in my own head. Brilliant and sincere.

A Gripping Memoir

When I started listening to this book, I thought I would get bored. Casey Gerald's voice is so soft and slow-paced. But somehow he kept me interested the entire time. This book is an amazing combination of childhood memoir, social commentary, coming-of-age and self-deprecating wit. It's an old story, but an entirely new point of view (to me at least). Thanks Mr. Gerald for putting your life into words for us, and thanks, Audible, for making this great work available! #SocialJustice, #ThoughtProvoking, #RacialJustice, #Tagsgiving, #Sweepstakes

A must read

One of the best books I have ever read. Gerald has a story that everyone should hear and everyone should relate to. Listen!

Stunning, vulnerable and beautifully written.

Casey Gerald speaks so openly and honestly about his life, family, failures, and shortcomings he’s given me the courage to begin doing so in my own life. This smart, reflective, and brutally honest memoir was one I didn’t want to end and highly recommend.