Summary

* NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER*

Imagine yourself a thirteen-year-old hundreds of miles away from home, in a strange city, and your mom leaves you at a bus station parking lot and drives off into the night with her lover.

That's the real life story of country music star Jimmy Wayne. It's a miracle that Jimmy survived being hungry and homeless, bouncing in and out of the foster care system, and sleeping in the streets. But he didn't just overcome great adversity in his life; he now uses his country music platform to help children everywhere, especially teenagers in foster care who are about to age out of the system.

Walk to Beautiful is the powerfully emotive account of Jimmy's horrendous childhood and the love shown him by Russell and Bea Costner, the elderly couple who gave him a stable home and provided the chance to complete his education. Jimmy says of Bea, "She changed every cell in my body."

It also chronicles Jimmy's rise to fame in the music industry and his Meet Me Halfway campaign: his walk halfway across America, 1,700 miles from Nashville to Phoenix, to raise awareness for foster kids.

Join Jimmy on his walk to beautiful and see how one person really can make a difference.

ENDORSEMENTS

"If your story could use a better chapter, take inspiration from Jimmy's." --Max Lucado, New York Times Best-Selling Author

"It reads like a movie to me, and if so, I'll be the first one in a seat to see it." --Dolly Parton

"Walk to Beautiful will open your eyes to the hurting people around you." --Frank Harrison, Chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated; Chairman and Cofounder, With Open Eyes

Publisher's Weekly Review

Abandoned by a bipolar mother and her husband at the age of 13, musician Wayne was bumped from foster home to foster home until he knocked on a door, asking for odd jobs, and met Bea and Russell Costner. The couple gave him the love and stability he'd never known, which saw him through high school and college and into a career in country music and advocacy. Wayne settled into his new life, watching with sadness as Russell Costner succumbed to cancer, observing Bea's strong faith, getting his first job, forming a band, and discovering his voice as an advocate for children who, like himself, were left to fend for themselves or stagnate in juvenile detention centers. Wayne also saw his career in country music take off after he was discovered during an audition for a talent program. Today, he is also national spokesperson for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for children. Wayne's story is one that will reverberate with any who have found themselves without hope, love, or stability. Its message of the importance of faith and fortitude will inspire a wide audience. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.