Emmett J Hall

Runaway Emmett J Hall

In 1936 Oakland, California fifteen-year-old Ernest Ballard is part of the burgeoning middle-class families in the United States and has a firm black and white grasp of what he thinks is right. When Ernest's mother, Millie, is mugged on the way home after work, he blames his father, Thomas, for not providing for the family and seeks him out. He attacks his father. When the dust clears, witness to the fight puts Ernest on an outbound freight to escape murder charges. Ernest agrees to go. What else can he do but runaway? Ernest encounters a mentor, revivalists, thieves, and communists. Runaway is a coming of age story of lies, tragedy, murder, redemption, hope and most of all the truth.