Cheekie

the long version

The Desire project in New Orleans, once the pride of public housing, was home for Cheekie, as it had been for his parents and grandparents. But now, in the 1970s, the Desire has degenerated into a world of violence, drugs, and poverty. Still the project is full of life as well, and of people whose vibrant energy, love of fun and ties of family help them to transcend their oppressive surroundings. Cheekie is a young man's day-by-day account in the honest voice of a boy growing up in the Desire. Cheekie brings it all to life - the abuse and the love, the neglect and the nurturing, the violence and the inspiration through which a child came to manhood.