Fusing Jimmy Santiago Baca's talents as a writer of memoir with ReLeah Cossett Lent's expertise in building and empowering classroom communities, this book offers a completely new approach to reaching at-risk adolescents. Centered around conflicts and life-altering choices, Baca's gripping personal narratives--delivered through short stories and live-from-the-classroom videos--will resonate with students and provide rich opportunities for them to reflect on their own decision making. Through these stories and their accompanying activities, students witness the power of literacy and learn that their power, too, lives in the words they speak, write, and share with others. This book is organized into two parts: (1) Reaching and Teaching Adolescents on the Edge; and (2) Stories by Jimmy Santiago Baca and Suggestions for Teaching. Part I contains six chapters: (1) Community and Trust; (2) Engagement and Motivation; (3) Challenge and Self-Efficacy; (4) Collaboration and Group Work; (5) Writing and Learning; and (6) Performances and Projects. Part II is divided into three sections: (1) Longing for Love; (2) Stereotypes; and (3) Wholeness. Longing for Love contains the following stories: (1) The Swing Test That Made Us Men; (2) The Magic Marble; and (3) Wells Market. Stereotypes contains the following stories: (1) Eleven Cents; (2) Forgiving the Godfather of Poetry; and (3) Sign Language, Convict Style. Wholeness contains the following stories: (1) The Embrace; (2) Birdhouses; (3) The Warden; and (4) Saving the Tree. Interview with Jimmy Santiago Baca and How to Use the DVD with Your Students and Colleagues are also presented.