Never Far from Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip Hop, Microsoft, and the Law
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-16 10:21:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bruce Jackson
- ISBN：1982191155
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Summary
Microsoft’s associate general counsel shares the inspirational story of his rise from childhood poverty in pre-gentrified New York City to a stellar career at the top of the technology and music industries in this stirring true story of grit and perseverance。 For fans of Indra Nooyi’s My Life in Full and Viola Davis’s Finding Me。
As an accomplished Microsoft executive， Bruce Jackson handles billions of dollars of commerce as its associate general counsel while he plays a crucial role in the company’s corporate diversity efforts。 But few of his colleagues can understand the weight he carries with him to the office each day。 He kept his past hidden from sight as he ascended the corporate ladder but shares it in full for the first time here。
Born in Crown Heights， Brooklyn， Jackson moved to Manhattan’s Amsterdam housing projects as a child， where he had already been falsely accused and arrested for robbery by the age of ten。 At the age of fifteen， he witnessed the homicide of his close friend。 Taken in by the criminal justice system， seduced by a burgeoning drug trade， and burdened by a fractured， impoverished home life， Jackson stood on the edge of failure。 But he was saved by an offer。 That offer set him on a better path， off the streets and eventually on the way to Georgetown Law， but not without hard knocks along the way。
But even as he racked up professional accomplishments， Jackson is still haunted by the unchanged world outside his office。
From public housing to working for Microsoft’s president， Brad Smith， and its founder， Bill Gates， to advising some of the biggest stars in music， Bruce Jackson’s Never Far from Home reveals the ups and downs of an incredible journey， how he overcame many obstacles and the valuable lessons learned along the way。
As an accomplished Microsoft executive， Bruce Jackson handles billions of dollars of commerce as its associate general counsel while he plays a crucial role in the company’s corporate diversity efforts。 But few of his colleagues can understand the weight he carries with him to the office each day。 He kept his past hidden from sight as he ascended the corporate ladder but shares it in full for the first time here。
Born in Crown Heights， Brooklyn， Jackson moved to Manhattan’s Amsterdam housing projects as a child， where he had already been falsely accused and arrested for robbery by the age of ten。 At the age of fifteen， he witnessed the homicide of his close friend。 Taken in by the criminal justice system， seduced by a burgeoning drug trade， and burdened by a fractured， impoverished home life， Jackson stood on the edge of failure。 But he was saved by an offer。 That offer set him on a better path， off the streets and eventually on the way to Georgetown Law， but not without hard knocks along the way。
But even as he racked up professional accomplishments， Jackson is still haunted by the unchanged world outside his office。
From public housing to working for Microsoft’s president， Brad Smith， and its founder， Bill Gates， to advising some of the biggest stars in music， Bruce Jackson’s Never Far from Home reveals the ups and downs of an incredible journey， how he overcame many obstacles and the valuable lessons learned along the way。
Reviews
Carrie Lane
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I was privied to an early galley。 This memoir is such a good read that I couldn't put it down。 It took me two days to read。 The author doesn't toot his own horn at all。 His journey speaks for itself。 He writes vividly and he's very down to earth。 He experienced trauma in his early years that would have sidetracked many people。 I couldn't imagine being arrested at the age of ten for robbery or living with five siblings in a one bedroom apartment in the projects。 I teared up when he was left back I was privied to an early galley。 This memoir is such a good read that I couldn't put it down。 It took me two days to read。 The author doesn't toot his own horn at all。 His journey speaks for itself。 He writes vividly and he's very down to earth。 He experienced trauma in his early years that would have sidetracked many people。 I couldn't imagine being arrested at the age of ten for robbery or living with five siblings in a one bedroom apartment in the projects。 I teared up when he was left back in fourth grade and found myself angry at his high school teacher for telling him that he was not college material。 There's so much more to his story and he tells you exactly what he did to become Microsoft's Associate General Counsel working directly for the President。 He fought through turmoil but he fought for others along the way。 This is a story of pure resilience and the underdog wins！ 。。。more
Sharon Dene
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But an amazing story with this man Bruce had to overcome and make us way into the world which was very I I'm friendly to him。 Bruce He grew up In Brooklyn and then To Housing project in New York City。 You had a lot of obstacles to overcome because his family was very dysfunction。 His grandmother and his aunt hoped him a lot along the way。 They encouraged him to keep going on even when there's obstacles in this way。 When he was ten He was arrested for something he did not do。 You're very frighten But an amazing story with this man Bruce had to overcome and make us way into the world which was very I I'm friendly to him。 Bruce He grew up In Brooklyn and then To Housing project in New York City。 You had a lot of obstacles to overcome because his family was very dysfunction。 His grandmother and his aunt hoped him a lot along the way。 They encouraged him to keep going on even when there's obstacles in this way。 When he was ten He was arrested for something he did not do。 You're very frightened but you understood the black way of people not believing HIN。 He realized a lot of people around him were running in gangs and he stayed in school stay very focused。 He then went to college And she got crazy feedback from the teacher's living how can you be so good in accounting。 His grandmother died and he said I'm gonna become a lawyer because that's What she wanted Him to do。 He went to Georgetown School Of Law Become a tax lawyer。 Bruce Smith a lot of obstacles in his way as well Work for a while as a lawyer In a law form specialized in taxes。 He then went into the music industry。 And then he went to Microsoft As a lawyer in there。 With this book Show how people can help you along the way。 。。。more
Yolanda
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This was and interesting read and uplifting but I found it a bit slow 。 If you like character driven novels then you will like this 。 If you like plot driven novels probably not 。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book
Julie
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I’m a sucker for a good rags-to-riches memoir and Never Far From Home did not disappoint。 Jackson grew up poor， in the NYC projects。 He repeatedly faced racism， and a slew of adults who underestimated his intelligence as well as his resilience， grit and determination。 “It was， in some ways， the worst sort of racism， the kind based not on hatred but on assumptions and ignorance。” I was inspired by the way Jackson was able to transcend a home life that did not value education as a path out of pove I’m a sucker for a good rags-to-riches memoir and Never Far From Home did not disappoint。 Jackson grew up poor， in the NYC projects。 He repeatedly faced racism， and a slew of adults who underestimated his intelligence as well as his resilience， grit and determination。 “It was， in some ways， the worst sort of racism， the kind based not on hatred but on assumptions and ignorance。” I was inspired by the way Jackson was able to transcend a home life that did not value education as a path out of poverty。 As an advocate for youth in foster care， Jackson’s perspective opened my eyes to issues that I had never thought about。 The high school co-op program， a program that essentially put a ceiling on Jackson’s goals and aspirations， and the lessons that he learned from that experience， was one example。 Additionally， Jackson has an important view on diversity in the workplace， and this book would be a valuable read for companies interested in supporting true inclusion。 Jackson’s success was supported by mentors and trusted advisors， a real village。 Towards the end of the memoir， it began to feel more like a thank you note to those individuals， taking me out of the narrative of the story。 My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book。 All opinions are my own and not biased in any way。 。。。more
Andrea A
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My thanks to Net Galley， Atria， and the personal invitation I received to review this book and open my mind to something I would not have originally picked up。 Bruce s story is full of emotion， support， and inspiration。 A much needed lift during these tough times。 Recommend。
ML
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What an interesting and uplifting story！ Bruce Jackson grew up in the projects， and as a young person his life was definitely headed in the wrong direction。 Thanks to his family， especially his grandmother， education for hims was a priority。 Eventually， he graduated from Georgetown Law School。 held various positions in the entertainment and technology industries （among others）， and even started his own company。 He is now the associate general counsel at Microsoft。Bruce had a lot of encouragement What an interesting and uplifting story！ Bruce Jackson grew up in the projects， and as a young person his life was definitely headed in the wrong direction。 Thanks to his family， especially his grandmother， education for hims was a priority。 Eventually， he graduated from Georgetown Law School。 held various positions in the entertainment and technology industries （among others）， and even started his own company。 He is now the associate general counsel at Microsoft。Bruce had a lot of encouragement from many people — as well as a few good breaks — along the way， but it was his tenacity that kept him going and got him where he is today。 His memoir， which is beautifully written， should serve as a shining example to others， giving any reader mounds of hope the he/she can definitely achieve his/her dreams。Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC。 。。。more
Joyce Cacioppo stein
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