The acclaimed speaker and author of Once Upon a Time We Were Colored shares his timeless "front porch wisdom" of his youth

"A beautiful and gentle book... a healing work."—Jonathan Kozol, New York Times bestselling author

Clifton L. Taulbert is renowned for his poignant memoirs about growing up in the segregated South and for his lectures and programs in schools, businesses, and communities throughout the world. In Eight Habits of the Heart, this inspiring handbook, filled with moving stories and memorable lessons, he lays out eight basic principles he learned from his elders: a nurturing attitude, dependability, responsibility, friendship, brotherhood, high expectations, courage, and hope.

With exercises for reflection and practice, Taulbert shows how the Eight Habits of the Heart can be utilized today to help strengthen relationships, families, and communities everywhere. Here is a refreshing and meaningful guide to the spiritual core we, as a society, always seem to be seeking. "Anyone sincere in wanting to build better community needs to read... no, digest this book."—Louisville Courier-Journal

"Few guides have the ring of truth that Taulbert achieves."—Library Journal