Abilene Author: Clayton Brooks

Living a hardscrabble childhood prepared Clayton Brooks well for the future and even led to a couple of books about his life.

In fact, his dad’s own life was the stuff of movies. He escaped from a prison chain gang in Georgia and made his way to Texas, where he started a second family. Clayton was the youngest of five children.

“We lived in shacks in the middle of cotton fields,” he said. “We lived in tents and tourist courts in Abilene.”

The childhood is recorded in his first book, “Second Hand Shoes and Day Old Bread.” The debut book was followed by “Baskets, Blackboards and Beyond.” Both books were published in 2023. The “baskets and blackboards” in the second title refer to his basketball prowess and his teaching career that spanned 30 years. He was inducted into the Garland ISD athletic hall of fame for his years spent there as a coach and English teacher. He also was included in McMurry University’s All-Century basketball team during the university’s centennial year in 2023.

Clayton made good grades in English classes and later taught English literature. He was such a good storyteller and writer that friends and family members encouraged him to write his own life story. Remembering his own hard times growing up, Clayton has an offer: You can get a book for $20 by contacting him.

“Or, it’s free if you’re short of money.”

By Loretta Fulton