Truly Blessed and Highly Favored: A Memoir

An intimate and moving account of how the author rose from poverty to become a major Black political figure in New York State.

Truly Blessed and Highly Favored is the story of the remarkable rise and illustrious career of H. Carl McCall, a revered figure in New York State politics and the first Black official elected to statewide office. Growing up in Roxbury, Massachusetts, one of six children reared by a single mother, he experiences the difficulties of poverty, the heartache of an absent father, and incidents of racism, but these challenges are juxtaposed with the triumphs of attaining an Ivy League degree, becoming a popular preacher, and attaining success at the highest levels of business and politics. He provides a behind-the-scenes political primer on his mentorship with Harlem political power brokers Percy Sutton, Charles Rangel, and David Dinkins, and offers hard-won lessons from his time in the York State Senate, his tenure as New York State Comptroller, and his bruising campaign for governor. Along the way, he includes engrossing stories about Bill and Hillary Clinton, Mario and Andrew Cuomo, and such icons as Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter. Mixing the personal and the political, this memoir is the story of the drive and determination of a Black man who never forgot his roots and always tried to pay it forward.