When IronE Singleton, a man most of you would recognize either as Alton in The Blind Side or as T-Dog from The Walking Dead, asked me to co-write his autobiography I was happy to jump in and help the man I knew—someone I called friend and thought I understood so well.
But then the writing process took me on a journey I didn’t quite anticipate.
From broken down Atlanta neighborhoods to the University of Georgia, from wildly uncomfortable interviews with family members who have embraced the thug life to heart breaking recollections of those who have passed, I learned the whole truth about a remarkable man. He should’ve been a statistic. Instead, despite his horrible early mistakes, he put his faith in God and found a way to rise above. He became an accomplished father, actor and man.
In many ways I think that through this project, with the Singleton family’s openness and love throughout, IronE was ultimately more help to my spirit than I was to his writing.
I’m very excited to announce that IronE’s autobiography …
Blindsided by the Walking Dead:
From surviving the streets to slaying the geeks
Is now available for pre-order!!
You can pick up a copy by clicking on the link above.
Here’s a little bit of what you’ll find inside its’ pages:
On the streets of Atlanta, the fight to survive is a daily battle.
From the drug-infested corners of one of the city’s worst housing projects, to alleyways filled with ravenous zombies– Blindsided by the Walking Dead examines one man’s battle to overcome the violence, drugs, and crime of the ‘hood; starting with a young IronE Singleton determined to succeed despite an abusive mother, an absent father, and the temptations of instant gratification inherent with the thug life.
Football and Faith in God become IronE’s allies in his quest to escape and help him reach for the lights of the University of Georgia’s football field and theater stages.
After years of struggle–failed businesses, small roles, and an ill-fated trip to Los Angeles–IronE snags his major breakthrough role, playing the kind of drug-dealing, gun-toting thug he would have become on the streets, in The Blind Side.
When he is cast as T-Dog on AMC’s international mega-hit “The Walking Dead”, IronE examines through art what humanity is about and what it means to truly survive against all odds. Alongside cast mates Michael Rooker, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Andrew Lincoln, IronE fought, gagged, and sweat his way into the hearts and minds of millions around the world.