When I was born, I weighed two pounds, three ounces. The doctor who examined me told my mother, "Congratulations, Mrs. Pryor, you have a boy! No, wait, it's a girl! No, it is a boy!"

Mom cried, "What did I have? A freak?"

Yes and No.

My freakish life parallels my father's in many ways: a Peoria whorehouse, abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, and frequent bad decisions.

But I survived. And that's what my book is about, a real-life story of overcoming obstacles, surviving, and thriving.

Richard Pryor Jr.