Been to Yesterdays

Now celebrating its 25th year in print, this powerful and moving memoir by acclaimed poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins tells the story of his challenging childhood through poignant poems.

Growing up in the 1950s, young Lee Bennett Hopkins navigated the painful realities of his parents’ divorce, an unstable home life, and a struggle to make ends meet. Amidst these hardships, he found solace in the memory of his beloved grandmother and held onto his dream of becoming a writer. Through these deeply emotional autobiographical poems, Hopkins vividly captures the raw feelings, experiences, and dreams of a boy enduring a turbulent time in his life.