Dr. Frederick D. Harper’s words ring particularly true throughout his latest book, The Stories.  Harper delves into his life stories in a way that is personal, poetic, and prescient.  One can easily picture him in his roles that for several decades included author, researcher, civil rights pioneer/leader, counselor, professor, consultant, and psychotherapist in this riveting depiction of his life stories.  The Stories span from his early childhood through college years, afterwards as professor, and then as retired author/counselor. 
 

Told in an entertaining, intellectual manner, the book couches spiritual, sometimes prophetic pronouncements and beliefs with real life events and circumstances in a practical, inspired manner.  For example, he tells of how his late mother’s spirit foretold his second marriage and how pivotal chance encounters with his future second wife were predictive of their marriage several years later.  And in a nod to generational prophetic nuance, how certain events in his life seemed to parallel moments of unexplained prescience when he felt the urge to commit his thoughts to paper on the subject of premature  death only minutes before the  World Trade Center 9/11 and other such events.  His urgent premonistic writings on the untimely deaths of seemingly larger- than- life music icons Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, occurred within two hours of his writings.

When Dr. Harper looks back over his life, he realizes that he could have gone down a completely different path, but for a teacher who forcefully took a hand in his school life, actually threatening him to do his best on the upcoming academic honor roll battle or she would “kill him.”  His life was never the same and he either came out on top or near the top in academic performances from then onward.  In fact, he became a leader among his peers in college and graduate school. 
 

Harper carefully tells of his youngest son’s pronouncement at an early age of a time before he was born, when he chose his own parents from the sky.  He goes on to mention this same kind of experience based on research conducted at the University of Virginia, of some 2,000 other children who stated before age five that they too had chosen their parents or remembered their previous lives. One child recounted experiencing gun fire and burning before he entered his mother’s “stomach.” His prior life probably involved being an embattled soldier, says Harper. 
 

Sometimes, Harper wonders if his life’s purpose was to be a channel for others as they sought to understand the meaning of events in their lives, even when he was not seeking to be such a channel. For example, when a man whom he had met on an airplane trip afterwards shared the hurtful passing of his loved one. Harper helped him unveil the sorrowful event’s deeper meaning. One of his graduate assistants, who became a trusted reviewer of his book manuscripts, had the same gift for prophetic interpretations of life and events.  
 

Treasuring his time as a college professor, Dr. Harper does not claim to tell every multi-nuanced moment, but he names a few of the influencers on his life, namely, Carroll L.L. Miller,  dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Andrew Billingsley, Vice President for Academic Affairs  Dr. Faustine C. Jones Wilson, School of Education, and Dr. Constance Ellison, also of the School of Education and the Graduate School – all of whom either modeled academic excellence or served as respected peers or mentors.
 

Harper traces the beginning of his civil rights leadership history and discriminatory experiences, which began in his youth as he led his friends to seek integration of local eating and recreational facilities in Jacksonville, Florida. These experiences then continued through the years, including incidences of racism during his early college career, as when a secretary refused to type for him, but not the white faculty members.    Harper reported the occurrences and she was later “encouraged” to amend her attitude towards him, which she did and began typing for him after all. In another instance, upon being interviewed for a counselor position, after several interviews, he was told, “You’ll do.” It was obvious to him that the federal government had threatened a denial of federal funds if the school had not adhered to diversity requirements.  In later years, Harper became one of the first two African Americans to receive a doctorate from Florida State University.  Through all of these and many other incidences, he learned that adversity was only a steppingstone to enhanced strength of character, persistence, and preparation for the next challenges.