THE BLACK PAGES: THE MEMOIR SETTING ME FREE

by Antonio Ricardo Cannady

Overview

"Cannady knows how to tell a story, and his prose captures the emotional rollercoaster..."
- Kirkus Reviews

"In the labyrinth of life's darkest corners, few have charted a course as remarkable and inspiring as Antonio Ricardo Cannady." - PaxJones

Independent writer and filmmaker Antonio Ricardo Cannady wrote screenplays that got him invited through the exclusive doors of CBS Television, appearances on TMZ, and mentoring by an Emmy award-winning TV producer, which led him to a six-figure writing offer from Whitfield Entertainment Group (WEG), an entertainment company affiliated with Grammy-winning recording artist Pharrell Williams and Grammy-nominated artist Pusha-T.

What isn't known is that Antonio is the byproduct of an emotionally and physically violent childhood home that endured years of domestic trauma, only to escape and emotionally bleed onto the streets of Orlando, Florida, and, unfortunately, onto others as well. For years, he battled a powder cocaine addiction, undiagnosed mental disorders, relationship issues, and the arduous struggle to keep the broken boy within himself the darkest of secrets.

While maneuvering from Orlando to the streets of Los Angeles in search of something outside of himself, Antonio was armed with every damaging tool imaginable that could ignite his pending self-destruction. Fortunately, a truth was revealed along his journey, resulting in a rerouting of his path. So, how did he sidestep and overcome such a clear, definite, and unfortunate fate?

Within the pages of this book, Antonio discloses and reveals his objectional journey, truth, complete transparency, and vulnerability, along with the lessons and insights he learned through some of his darkest days that ultimately led to the light along his path leading him into his calling of helping others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798881120481
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	04/09/2024
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Antonio Ricardo Cannady is an independent Filmmaker, Author, and Community Activist, who currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Editorial Reviews

"Throughout Cannady's memoir, what shines through is his honesty, humility and heartfelt desire to help others overcome their challenges."

BookTrib

2024-08-02
In this debut memoir, Cannady recounts his unlikely rise in the entertainment industry.

Raised in 1980s Orlando, the author had a difficult childhood—he reports that his mother, who worked mostly as a housekeeper, would viciously beat the him and his brother if they stepped out of line. Those beatings caused Cannady to keep his guard up, afraid that any exposed vulnerability would lead to pain. “It would take multiple guns to the back of my head, highly toxic relationships, a cocaine habit, and a lot of self-sabotaging behavior throughout my life for me to eventually get it,” he writes of his epiphany regarding the role that trauma played in shaping his life. The author recounts his journey from a scared kid to a teen track star whose athleticism won him a place at a better high school where he discovered his love of movies (good) and partying (bad). After high school, Cannady worked a series of low-paying jobs while taking classes at various Orlando-area schools and reading screenwriting books, all the while dreaming of making the move to Los Angeles. His road to success was arduous and indirect. Through tireless hustle and a little good luck, the author was eventually offered the opportunity to launch his dream career—but had he overcome his troubled past enough to take advantage when the day arrived? Cannady knows how to tell a story, and his prose captures the emotional rollercoaster of his early years: “As I lay face down on the ground, all I could remember thinking was how terrified I was. My hyperhidrosis (sweating disorder) was in overdrive. Feeling that gun pressed against the back of my head was a feeling that I could never imagine, regardless of my God-given imaginary talents. I honestly thought I was going to die.” Cannady’s journey to becoming a TV writer is impressive, though his professional successes are perhaps not prominent enough to justify such a self-mythologizing book (every chapter begins with a brooding full-page photograph of the author). Some readers will no doubt feel inspired, while others may be put off.

A raw if self-aggrandizing memoir of following a dream.

Kirkus Reviews