Homeless to Hopkins

By: Christopher L. Smith

Narrated by: Timothy French

"I wish I could just die," I said to myself as my teeth chattered and my body shook with cold. Knowing I would probably still wake in the morning with my hair frozen to the door, I curled up in a ball, trying to find some warmth in the car that was my bedroom. Sadness consumed me like an infection: it had become the norm for me to wake up every day feeling broken. Most nights like this, all I could hope for was to die in my sleep to be rid of the pain. Despite the terrible nights, I still woke up, got dressed, and went to my only refuge, my high school. This was my life, often alone, cold, sad, and hungry. My youth was different than most, but this was my reality.

However, despite the hardship that was my life and being homeless, something led me on, something saw me through. I survived, I found hope, and eventually, a life even better than I had imagined. Even though I so often faced darkness, I discovered light, laughter, and happiness. I journeyed from that broken, homeless teenager sleeping in the car to eventually being a medical doctor at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins. But most important of all, I found me, I found joy. This is my story. Homeless to Hopkins.

©2023 Christopher L Smith (P)2023 Christopher L Smith

Required Reading

Not only is Smith’s story captivating, compelling, and inspiring, it should be required reading. "Homeless to Hopkins" -- like Westover's "Educated" and Vance's "Hillbilli Elegy" -- will pull at the reader's heartstrings for a bright child struggling to navigate the cruel complexity of societal and familial mental illness and abuse. However, Smith's journey expands on these stories. We not only cheer for the boy growing into a man, we cheer for his young bride whose own story adds to their capacity to replace homelessness with home, and to break the internal and external cords that threaten to drag them back into the costly cycle of chaos. It is written to see the story like a movie. Like all good story tellers, Smith helps readers face their own fears and want to help others through their most daunting days. In fact, the story up through his graduation from high school should be required reading for at least grades eight through highschool. Older teens and college freshman would do well to understand what dedication and hard work will achieve. Really, readers of every age and level will learn from and be inspired to do what it takes to improve their lives. The narrator did a great job too. Easy to listen to.

Inspiring real life story- a must read!

What I admire most about this book is the theme of choosing how one will react to circumstances rather than let hard times defeat or keep one down. No message I can think of could be more important for people who want to grow and fulfill their potential despite the odds that may appear against them. Faith is a strong component throughout this book. Many groups of people would benefit from this story. My hat is off to Dr and Mrs Smith. Thank you for sharing your story and being a voice of humanity, courage and inspiration!

Inspiring and encouraging story

This was an incredible story. Heartbreaking at times, but overall an inspirational story that will leave you feeling uplifted and motivated to overcome your challenges. I highly recommend for everyone to hear this story!