What Almost Did Not Happen

About the Book

We grow what we know. As a boy in Drew County, Arkansas, author James Willis grew into what he knew. In this memoir, he provides insight into who he was, what he did, and how his circumstances, experiences, and relationships helped him mature to the man he is today.

What Almost Did Not Happen chronicles the details of Willis’ life—his birth in 1938 in Monticello, Arkansas; being raised as an only child by his parents; growing up against the backdrop of the 1940s; his various national and international travels; his education and work as a high school teacher and university professor; marriage and raising children; being a grandfather; and the people and places that shaped his life.

An engaging account, What Almost Did Not Happen preserves the memories of Willis’s life and records the history of an uncommonly common man and how he became that man.

About the Author

JAMES WILLIS is professor emeritus from Murray State University. He is author of Arkansas Confederates in the Western Theater and The Other Side of Silence. Willis was born and raised in Drew County, Arkansas, and now lives in Little Rock. He has two sons, two step-daughters, six grand children and one great grandson.