Will Keeps debuts memoir that follows early gang life to work with at-risk youth in Iowa

It's not what you've been through. It's how you get through.

Those are the words Starts Right Here founder Will Holmes lives by. Time and time again, the community activist-turned-educator has leaned on the mantra that embodies his life and inspires others to persevere.

But the message — which has anchored Holmes' motivational speeches and is painted on the wall in his Des Moines nonprofit, an alternative school program for at-risk youth — will take another form.

Holmes' tagline will now grace the cover of his new memoir, "WillPower: It's Not What You've Been Through, But It's How You Get Through," out Oct. 10 via Bookpress Publishing. The 256-page book follows Holmes, from growing up poor on the South Side of Chicago and joining a gang by the age of 13, to relocating to Des Moines and rebuilding his life to help young people.

"I believe it," Holmes, who goes by his stage name, Will Keeps, said about his motto. "I say it because I'm achieving it every day."

The memoir comes as the trial draws near for 18-year-old Preston Walls, a former student at Starts Right Here accused of fatally shooting two classmates and severely injuring Holmes in January. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday.

Though details of the incident are not mentioned in the book, Holmes said he hopes the timing of his memoir offers some healing or guidance for readers.

" ... This book is a positive," he said. "This is showing people that even though you go through things in your life — and you're still going through things in your life — you still live your life."

"They can see that if I'm preaching about getting back up when you fall, then I better get my a-- back up when I fall. When they see that, it strengthens them to say, 'Oh, this is possible,'" Holmes continued.

Walls is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of 18-year-old Gionni Dameron and 16-year-old Rashad Carr, who were shot and killed Jan. 23 at Starts Right Here. Holmes, who tried to intervene, lost his right pinky finger and previously used a walker due to his injuries.

Charged in addition to Walls but set to be tried separately is Bravon Tukes, the alleged getaway driver.

Holmes said he was afraid the incident would ultimately lead to closing Starts Right Here, but as the days and months passed, he saw more people offer support and rally behind him. They told him to just "keep going," he recalled.

"I got so many kids trying to still get in here. It's unbelievable," Holmes said. "They want to be part of something that they know."

Holmes unpacks his life

Holmes' memoir was six years in the making and is co-authored by friend and colleague Danny Beyer.

Holmes and Beyer, who is mayor of Dallas Center, first met in 2018 at a conference, where Holmes was a guest speaker. But the two said they later met again through mutual friends, as Holmes searched for a writer and collaborator for his memoir.

They began writing in late 2019 — right around the time Holmes opened Starts Right Here in downtown Des Moines.

Beyer said he spent countless hours interviewing Holmes, first at his home and then later virtually as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Peeling back the layers of Holmes' childhood, Beyer carefully took notes, piecing the details together. At times, Beyer said, he watched Holmes open up and relive parts of his painful past, including being sexually abused by his stepfather.

Holmes said those moments were hard but important. A motivational speaker, Holmes said he has publicly shared his story of sexual abuse before and found it helpful for his healing journey. As Beyer worked with Holmes to piece together those difficult memories, Holmes said he turned to his family and encouraged them to lend their voices too.

How do you end a story that's not finished?

In the course of writing the book, Beyer said one challenge he found was not knowing how or where to end the story.

"We kept getting to a point where we felt like maybe the book was going to wrap up," Beyer said. "Then something great with Starts Right Here would happen or something great with the state of Iowa would happen or something not so great would happen (like) the summer of 2020, with all the protests and all those things. And it just kept going — like we can't end yet."

"Then, we got his first class of graduates, and we talked to them," Beyer continued. "We were like, 'This is it.'"

More: Starts Right Here founder Will Keeps, students open up about struggles, success after shooting

But it was a journey to get to that celebratory moment, Holmes said.

In the book, Holmes said he talks about the public criticism he faced while partnering with law enforcement officials and politicians to launch Starts Right Here. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is on the nonprofit's advisory board, and Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert is among the board of directors.

Issues bubbled during the summer of 2020, as civil unrest unfolded across the nation over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Holmes said other activists slammed him for working alongside city and state officials and felt like he turned his back on them. That he wasn't using his voice to amplify and uplift them.

"But I was using my voice," Holmes said. "I was using the voice that I wanted to use and still bring unity and bring people together even if we disagree. I was getting a lot of hits, bad hits for that, and it almost ruined what I was building."

"I wanted to build relationships, to be able to create something that can help our youth and bring us together — even if we disagree," he continued. "I was not going to let a disagreement stop progress."

How to buy Will Keeps' book

"WillPower: It's Not What You've Been Through, But It's How You Get Through," will be released Oct. 10 via Bookpress Publishing. It's $17.95 for a paperback or $24.95 for a hardback.

Bookpress will sell it on its website. It's also listed on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Will Keeps to debut memoir 9 months after Starts Right Here shooting