Imagine waking up one morning at age fifty. You're a noted, published artist whose work hangs all over the world. Then imagine finding yourself standing in front of thirty-five at-risk African American high school students in an inner-city classroom in one of the most difficult high schools in the country. It's your job to teach them, and you've never taught a day in your life. This is the story of an artist who did just that. It is a moving story of a middle-aged white artist who dared to venture into the inner city of Savannah, Georgia, and attempt to teach in one of the first all-black high schools for children of freed slaves in America. Yet Shadow Lessons is not another ""teacher saves the day"" book. It is a story of beauty and ugliness, life and death, joy and sorrow, laughter and despair. Shadow Lessons takes us beyond the classroom on a compelling journey of compassion, healing, and transformation. ""Bonnell takes us into an at-risk school with both sacred and kick-ass prose that weaves Steinbeck-like storytelling with art theory, history, practice, and pedagogy. Everyone in need of reconnecting with his or her own humanity should read this book."" --Stephen Knudsen, contributing editor and critic, ARTPULSE Magazine ""I found myself reading Shadow Lessons very slowly. When I finally finished I realized why. I just didn't want it to end."" --Phil Ginsburg, writer and performer ""Read, weep, enjoy, and learn. Shadow Lessons is a lot like Bonnell's sacred art: both offer fresh, new, and sometimes hard insights."" --Steve Starr, photojournalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for News Photography (1970) ""Shadow Lessons paints an intimate, candid, and harrowing portrait of a desperate corner of America, where dire circumstances mock the very idea of hope. In the midst of this bleak landscape, Bonnell introduces us to one remarkable character after another--with compassion, humility, and humor--and ultimately reveals the indomitability of the human spirit in the face of crushing adversity. An unforgettable read."" --John