I Am Pitts: Memoirs of an American Patriot

Inspired to serve his country after watching the World Trade Center collapse Dexter is critically wounded by a roadside bomb blast at the hands of insurgents in Abu Ghraib Iraq. His physical wounds push him to his limits as he recovers but his mental and emotional wounds from the battlefield prove to be just as tough to overcome. A failed first marriage medically retired from the army at 22 stripped of his identity as a soldier and thrust back into civilian life he has to construct a new life for himself. But before he can build a new life he has two major tasks to undertake: discover his own identity and make peace with his dark skin which subjected him to untold torture at the hands of his black adolescent peers resulting in unresolved trauma. In search of a new tribe eager to fit in and be accepted he finds what he is looking for in the most superficial part of society and himself-the color of ones skin. Dexters skin provides him a temporary and artificial sense of belonging but he still feels unfulfilled and unable to answer one of lifes greatest questions-who am I? Dexter finds his purpose in a police officer uniform as one of Louisvilles finest while he patrols the streets of Louisville Kentucky. Dexters new career accompanied by a new marriage brought about a new sense of accomplishment he had never known. Unfortunately 11 months into his new marriage and career tragedy strikes while he is on duty.At the age of 26 while wearing his police uniform and standing at the side of his mothers hospital bed he consented to his mother being taken off life support after she decided to end her pain and suffering with a bullet to her head. His mothers suffering was now over but his was just beginning. Dexter goes from saving lives as a police officer to being the one needing to be saved as his marriage and career start to crumble in the wake of his mothers suicide. A lifelong Christian Dexter starts to question his faith amid his current adversities. Losing the battle to his PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) he considers ending his life the same way his mother did but his sergeant and chain of command save him. It was in the darkest and most desperate moments of his life where he uncovers his true identity and self-worth independent of other peoples opinion of him. As a new man with a renewed faith hope and vigor for life he finds a new love and starts a family of his own. Having spent eight years with the police department he embarks on a new journey and challenge with his family to the southern border of Arizona with the United States Border Patrol. His 19 months odyssey in the Arizona desert comes to a halt when he sees his former police colleagues under attack in Louisville during the 2020 protest and riots. Dexter walks away from a six-figure a year job to rejoin his brother and sister officers on the frontlines of Louisvilles civil unrest. His patience and faith are tested daily as he dawns on his uniform and hits the streets to restore peace to a city engulfed in chaos.