ELIZABETHTOWN — Willie Herbert Smith has some vivid memories of his time growing up in Bladen County, and those memories are now part of his first published autobiography titled “Eighth Chop from the Top.”
The book takes the reader back to Smith’s time in the Cromartie Hill area and his years as a student at East Bladen High. There are recollections about hanging out with his boyhood friends around Clarkton and throughout Bladen County.
“Those times provided a rich background for my early life,” Smith said. “It provided me great lessons, observation, quotable moments and a host of other memorable moments.
“They served me well as I moved through college and into my professional life,” he added.
Smith said he grew up on a small farm as the youngest of eight children to the late Roe and Sarah Smith. After college — when he graduated from Fayetteville State University with a bachelor of science degree in business administration and management, followed by two master’s degrees, one in public administration with concentrations in financial management and government contracting, the other in national resource strategy — he has spent four decades working at various levels within agencies in the U.S. federal government, including the Department of Navy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Smith also holds a doctorate in management and organizational leadership.
About the book
“Eighth Chop from the Top” is an autobiography that takes readers through the journey of one man’s life from early beginnings in rural North Carolina through an assortment of life experiences.
The book offers an interesting story of opportunities, challenges, and emotional highs and lows, where family, friends, education, and career figure prominently along the path of one man’s life. Along that path, the author recounts a variety of life lessons that are provided as motivation, insights, and encouragement for readers.
It is a story that takes readers from rural North Carolina to the largest cities in the United States and beyond — from the farm to the highest levels of the federal government. It is a compelling story of culture, environment, race, and a range of encounters of a black man in the United States during a time of opportunity and change.
“Eighth Chop from the Top” can be ordered from Amazon.com. Walmart.com, Xlibris, Kindle store, Barnes and Noble, among others. The approximate cost is: $24 hardcover; $18 paperback; and $4 eCopy.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-862-4163 or [email protected].
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