As protests ignite across Washington, DC, veteran teacher Jerry Brown, known as JB, finds himself at a breaking point. His marriage is faltering, his faith in teaching is crumbling, and a viral video showing police brutality against his former student, Malik Drummond, forces him to question his understanding of education.
When Malik-charismatic, unpredictable, and scarred by loss-reenters JB's life, their unexpected reunion turns into an impulsive road trip through Appalachia, burdened by a shared history and unspoken pain.
From the streets of Southeast DC to the civil rights landmarks of Harpers Ferry and the forests of the Appalachian Trail, their uneasy journey becomes a reckoning, each mile revealing new fault lines between past and present, teacher and student, guilt and grace. What begins as flight turns into an unflinching exploration of race, education, and redemption within a divided nation.
Combining literary depth with narrative propulsion, TAUGHT invites readers, educators, and fans of socially conscious fiction on a journey as provocative as it is redemptive.
