."" In order for you all to meet the goals that you need for life, you must live inside a ring of fire," my mother said calmly. "The fire will protect you from things that might cause you to lose focus. You are part of a chain, and when one link gets weak, it causes the whole chain to suffer."" Seamlessly blending truth with fiction, these poignant vignettes offer slice of life portraits of the kinds of people who informed and grounded Eddie Westbrook's life as one of ten children born into a sharecropper family in rural Georgia in 1950. The stories pay tribute to the sorts of emotions- compassion, ambition, regret, thrill, joy, hope-that unite us all. Gathering people, circumstances, and insight from his early years, Westbrook weaves tales of days gone by into valuable, timeless lessons for today. You'll be moved by the passion that Auntie Mae had for Uncle Candy despite his indiscretions. You'll appreciate the sacrifices Uncle John made for Auntie Martha. And you'll take to heart the wisdom Eddie's mother doled out whenever she sensed her son was straying from the proper path. Westbrook's encouraging collection honors one of God's greatest gifts to mankind, time, with its tremendous power to heal and comfort.