You may take for granted that you can read these words. But many people cannot, and that's what this book is about. Tens of millions of Americans today lack the skills to complete a job application, read a recipe, find their way on a street map, calculate a restaurant bill or follow a favorite passage of scripture. Throughout history, people have shared personal experiences through stories. This is a book of 30 such stories from the front lines of the literacy movement in Alabama. In their own words, these people recount in very personal terms their motivations and dreams along the spectrum of learning and teaching. All profits from the sale of this book are donated to the Literacy Council of West Alabama and the Literacy Council in Birmingham.

The book seeks to demonstrate the ways in which collective impact approaches have guided the development of literacy coalitions over time. Since community collaboration strategies developed to address social issues, coalitions have grown from small networking organizations to powerful forces for change. The history of literacy coalitions offers a timeline outlining the why, who, what, where, when and how of communities that were influenced by social and political changes and the ways coalitions responded and thrived. The lack of literacy has held back economic development in the US and coalitions shine a light on issues associated with illiteracy and low school achievement. Not all coalitions succeed and the book explores models of success, funding strategies, evaluation and impact. The goal is to assist those developing coalitions by providing not only lessons learned but a blueprint for success.