Unveiling a journey from poverty to prosperity. Hiding in Plain View a Motivational Memoir by Marcel Clarke Book Tour with Author Q & A
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Synopsis:
Hiding in Plain View is a gripping tale of resilience, redemption, and self-discovery.
Entrepreneur, community advocate, and YouTube host Marcel Clarke shares his
extraordinary journey from struggle to success, proving that adversity can be
the catalyst for transformation.
Born
in the streets of Philadelphia, Marcel honed his fearlessness and
resourcefulness early on—skills that would later shape his path. But when his
father’s poor choices thrust him into poverty, anger and uncertainty took hold.
A chance encounter led him from suburban comfort to the dangerous world of drug
dealing, forcing him into a relentless battle between survival and ambition.
Yet,
his past did not define him. Determined to rewrite his story, Marcel found
strength in faith, discipline, and a vision for a better future. His journey
from the depths of hardship to entrepreneurship and financial success is both a
cautionary tale and an inspiring roadmap for those seeking purpose and
prosperity.
More
than a memoir, Hiding in Plain View is a testament to the power of resilience
and self-belief. Marcel’s story proves that no matter the obstacles, the power
to rise above and forge a new destiny lies within.
Excerpt:
A LETTER TO MY INNER CHILD
"Don't
let the world or your circumstances define you. Ignore the people in the stands
with the negative signs, and just go after it."
Marcel,
The people you encounter, most of whom know
very little or nothing about you, will always find ways to judge you or limit
the sights you set for yourself, but none of that matters. What matters is
knowing exactly who you are and being able to name the one, two, or three
things you wake up thinking about every day.
What is it that you love to do? If you were to
quiet the noise around you, what would your soul whisper to you? To remain
unshakeable in this world, you have to listen intently to that inner voice and
when it calls out to you, no matter what it is, bet on yourself and go after
it.
Money is irrelevant; it will come, so if you
have a passion for something, just focus on it consistently and make it happen.
You're adventurous, and despite being an only
child to parents who aren't incredibly hands-on, your curious nature means that
you'll keep your investigative hat on at all times. You'll quickly learn to
love the freedom your parents have given you to venture out and explore Philly
on your own terms. In time, you'll start to rely on and have faith in the
academic intelligence and the street-savviness your parents instilled in you.
Your fearlessness will continue to grow, and it's these very traits that will follow
you into adulthood and carry you through many (arguably, too many) formidable
moments in your life. Not to worry, though, there will be several favorable
times, too.
The advantages of being by yourself from a
young age will present themselves fully in adulthood. Your ability to tap into
your creativity to keep yourself occupied will also prove beneficial-never lose
that. Though your sociability skills will make it easy to connect with others,
your ability to think quickly on your feet, draw conclusions, and confidently
make decisions without the influence or input of others will serve you well
when you step into the position of a leader and entrepreneur; two roles you were
always destined to fulfill.
Understand that making decisions solo doesn't
make you selfish. It's your superpower and simply reflects the fact that you've
been raised in an environment where you had no one else to bounce ideas off of.
The advantage of this is that you've had no other option but to trust your gut
and consider multiple angles and perspectives, which, in turn, became skills
that you honed in order to start the process of deepening your self-trust.
Doing this will help you own the decisions you make. Remember, it's okay if
you're wrong sometimes. These are learning opportunities, as all mistakes are,
and they create circumstances for you to learn the art of pivoting-something
you'll have to do a lot throughout your teens and early twenties.
Speaking of, Mom and Pops' separation will be
difficult. Not only because you'll no longer be around them both but because
the pivot will lead you and Mom into poverty. As your first major example of
just how quickly life can change, it will be distressing, but trust me, you'll
get through it, and you and Mom will grow a little closer as a result. The
experience will also exemplify the importance of being aware of your
environment, why you should never take anything for granted, and how to stay
modest and grounded on your path to greatness because life can cruelly and
quickly humble your ass in an instant.
Experiencing poverty will form the eternal
unconscious conviction in the back of your mind and depth of your bones, that
you will never experience that ever again. In many ways, and after many years
of reflection, you'll come to realize that it was the strength of your desire
to never return to a life riddled with rats and roaches that kept you in the
game far longer than you'd anticipated.
The development of your ability to reserve
judgment about the people you encounter in life will also come as a result of
those years spent living in poverty. Where people come from will never be as
important as where they are when you meet them or even where they're headed,
and you'll make it your mission to keep this intact by any means necessary.
Entering the drug game will present the second
major example of how quickly life can change. Despite setting out to be
successful rather than rich, you'll be exposed to rapidly accumulating wealth
beyond anything you can imagine, not to mention cultivating sibling-like
relationships and family-like bonds, some of which you'll maintain right into
adulthood. The antics, trials, tribulations, money, and, quite frankly, power
you'll experience as a result of saying yes to a random kid when he asks you to
help him out on the strip will blow your mind. My advice is: Buckle up and get
ready for the most adventurous ride of your life!
When exposed to just how much money there is
to be made in this world, you'll light a match on building rapid wealth,
igniting a flame that you'll ultimately never be able to extinguish. The birth
of your first daughter in your early twenties will reinforce why, for her sake
and the sake of your future children, you cannot and will not ever be broke
again.
The love you'll have for that kid will exceed
your expectations, and you'll also be introduced to the nuances of love,
relationships, and, in many ways, your duty as a parent and partner through
your relationships. Sheanea, your first official girlfriend, will open your
heart up to deep friendship and love, and while she won't be your forever love,
she'll provide you with one of your greatest blessings in life: your daughter,
Marshay.
The next significant relationship you'll have
will be with a woman named Jackie, who, unfortunately, around the time of
writing this letter, passed away from eye cancer. She's the once-in-a-lifetime
comet that will fly by at the most precise and perfect time to redirect your
path toward your destiny.
Jackie will expose you to the caliber of
ambitious, career-driven women who don't necessarily need a man to pay their
way but who are very selective about the men they choose to engage with. You'll
come to learn that there's something so captivating about a woman who doesn't
need you but wants you, and over the years, you'll feel indebted to Jackie for
exposing you to the kind of woman you'd want to marry someday.
It will be a few years before you find the
woman you'll ultimately marry, but when you cross paths with Stacy, you'll know
she's the one. When it comes to your relationships with women, it's Stacy who
will stand above all else as the woman who, in a world full of standards,
criteria, and judgment, helps you understand and experience what true and
unconditional love really is.
Without her, you wouldn't be who you are,
where you are, or understand how imperative it is to meet people exactly where
they are. From her unwavering belief in you to her contagious positivity, not
to mention her exceptional intelligence and beauty, the eternal sense of
gratitude you'll have for her will never fade. Stacy is the woman who will
facilitate a pressure-free environment that allows you the space and grace to
grow as a man as you enter the second quarter of your life. She's the woman
you'll marry and create a beautiful life with. Your other two greatest
blessings, Bryce and Jordyn, will come and augment the parental love you didn't
know could expand any further and similarly help reinforce your duty to ensure
you build your legacy so they, too, will never have to experience the poverty
that you did.
Outside of your loving family, you'll
encounter folks whose presence impacts you, but in several instances, it will
be their absence that hits you harder. From Stan The Man to your foster kid
Craig (yes, you are briefly a foster parent) to even your dad, each of these
individuals will leave an enduring impression on your heart.
Though it will take many years and several
conversations with God to forgive yourself, especially as a result of what
happened with Stan, your perpetual commitment to public service and positively
impacting communities will be ignited. The fire in your soul to influence the
lives of underprivileged minority youth will be catalyzed by Craig entering
your life.
Due to the unfortunate way that his life is
ultimately taken from him far too young-an instance experienced far too often
within African American communities-you will forever be dedicated to educating
and uplifting the lives of young Black men like Craig, whose circumstances do
not have to determine the rest of their lives. In fact, every day, you will
wake up questioning how best you can impact another young person's life,
whether through cost-free advice, activities, or speaking engagements.
As for your relationship with your dad, just
trust me when I say that despite all the setbacks you will encounter with him
(and believe me, there are many!), telling your story is what will help you
reconcile your relationship with him. You'll let go of the grudges that
compromised your relationship for decades, and instead of criticizing the
decisions he made on how he chose to live his life in his later years, you'll
learn from them, realizing that he remained true to himself until the very end.
Without him being an entrepreneur, you
wouldn't have been inspired to be the same way from a very young age.
Ironically, it was his questionable parenting that served to reinforce you
growing up to be the type of parent you wish you had in him. It's your dad who
gave you the ability to detect silver linings in even the most unfortunate of
predicaments, and for that, as well as his entrepreneurial spirit, you'll find
yourself thinking that he, too, deserves a small crown.
Collectively, throughout all the losses you
will endure from your family and friendship circle, you'll learn to live your
life to the maximum every single day. You can be here one day and, in the blink
of an eye, be gone the next. With that always in mind, you'll remember to never
put off until tomorrow what you can get done throughout today.
Remember, loss doesn't always entail the
ending of a life. Loss also includes the ending of long friendships. Would you
believe me if I told you that Kofi, Kedron, Kevin, and Nathan would no longer
be your brothers in adulthood? Unlikely. But what I will say is that for the
season that they are in your life, for the most part, they are your ride or
dies, and your interactions and dealings with them are what catapult you into
rapid wealth and out of poverty.
Letting them go will not be easy, and the
challenging times and feelings of betrayal you endure will try their best to
consume you in the period of isolation you'll be forced into. But the distance
will emulate that of a cocoon, and the metamorphosis you'll experience will
take the form of an intentional decision to rebuild and redirect your life for
your growth and especially your safety.
The friends you meet, many of whom will turn
out to be lifelong and from all walks of life, will be made once you leave the
proverbial cocoon, during what will possibly feel like a period of abandonment
and almost punishment while you're alone.
Looking around at your newly developed circle,
there will be no traces of anything negative or illegal because you'll simply
no longer associate with it. Your friendships will be balanced, and everything
you do will be above board, to the point where many of the people reading this
won't believe half the things you've shared in the book you'll write in your
fifties.
The term "no cap, no snitching" will
lose the hold it once had over you, because all it ever really does is keep the
Black community in a perpetual state of covering each other's crimes.
Juxtaposed with the life you'll come to live, where there are actually
consequences for crimes, you'll appreciate the peace that comes with a life
that's free from it.
No more having to dodge bullets as you wade
through cars or jump on the back of firetrucks to escape shots being fired at
you by a known killer. No more watching over your back, questioning who the
real ones are, or being in life-threatening situations, period. Life will
slowly begin to reflect answered prayers; it will begin to feel easy.
Betting on yourself when you have to start
from scratch for the second time will test you and have you questioning whether
you'll ever be able to make a comeback. You'll go from having hundreds of
thousands of dollars passing through your hands monthly to a small $800
bi-weekly check to make do with, and it'll suck! But just hold on because
you've started from scratch before, and you know how to get it done.
Things will exponentially improve the more you
reinforce your commitment to a better life through prayer and action. The
prayer and promise you make to God to stay out of trouble if He gets you out of
the bind you're in gets heard. You're given a second chance, Marcel, one you
grab hold of and never look back.
Believe it or not, your mom's incessant
requests for you to finish school will be your ticket out of the life you'd
known, so no matter how much you'll be tempted to resist her wishes, you'll
realize she saw the biggest vision for your life all along. What's even more
ironic is that you'll be the exact same way, if not worse than her, when it
comes to instilling the importance of education in your own kids! Marshay,
Bryce, and Jordyn, your three children, will be intelligent and possess
exceptional leadership qualities despite their differing personalities.
At the end of the day, you'll understand that,
despite the dynamic you had with your family growing up, family is everything
and that the investment you make in them is what makes everything else you
invest in worth it. Instilling knowledge of the business world in them, so they
know where to pick up if and when necessary, is one of the greatest gifts you
can give them.
Your kids won't have to be one of the hundreds
of competent but ultimately illegitimate young Black CEOs in the streets like
you were. They'll learn from your transferable skills of navigating people,
communication, coordination, sales, and marketing, to maintain and build on
what you start. From owning a cleaning franchise that grows to generate over
$1.5 million in revenue to starting several of your own thriving businesses,
you'll observe that you can make just as much money, if not more, legitimately.
If I could sum it all up, I would say to you
that everything is going to be okay. Keep doing exactly what you do, which is
to determine your own path with the flexibility to be open to pivoting should a
more suitable direction present itself. Be aware of the people who not only say
they love you but consistently show you what they do through action. Those
special people are your advisors whose advice you hold in high regard. Even so,
you know and trust yourself, and it's ultimately up to you to listen to your
inner voice. Remember that it's God speaking to you, and when you are one of
God's children, you can't lose, and your life will reflect that.
Marcel, you can do anything. Don't let the
world or your circumstances make you lose sight of that. As long as you're
breathing and capable, the world will be yours!
Rooting you on from the future,
Marcel J. Clarke
Author Q&A
On
writing:
How did you
do research for your book?
It's an autobiography. I wrote my book based on
mental and physical notes.
Which was
the hardest character to write? The easiest?
The hardest character to write was my
father. The easiest was myself.
In your book
you make a reference to your childhood. How did you come up with this idea?
It was an essential aspect of my story. What
made you write a book about your life? It’s a story that needed to be told.
Where do you
get inspiration for your stories?
My memories inspired my stories.
There are
many books out there about life. What makes yours different?
It’s a story about resilience and fortitude.
One’s ability to manifest change through decision-making and actions.
What advice
would you give budding writers?
Be original and use your unique perspectives to
connect with your audience.
Your book is
set in Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Maryland. Have you ever been there?
Yes
In your book
you state. “Be smart” why is that?
Because in this world everyone doesn’t have your
best interest in mind.
If you could
put yourself as a character in your book, who would you be?
Myself (Marcel)
Do you have
another profession besides writing?
I’m an entrepreneur.
How long
have you been writing?
10 years.
Do you ever
get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?
No. I have to take mental breaks.
What genre
do you write and why?
Bio-Fiction. Because it allows me to expand the
truth.
What is the
last great book you’ve read?
The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People.
What is a
favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
That “I am a brilliant story teller.”
How are you
similar to or different from your lead character?
We both have tremendous perseverance.
If your book
were made into a movie, who would star in the leading roles?
Not sure.
If your book
were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
All mid 90’s hip-hop artists (Biggie, Tupac,
Jay-Z).
What were
the biggest rewards and challenges with writing your book?
The biggest challenge was converting memories to
paper. The greatest reward was actually
capturing my life in a book, which will now be analyzed for generations.
In one
sentence, what was the road to publishing like?
Easy. I used a well-established publishing
company.
Which
authors inspired you to write?
Mason Betha, Rick Warren and Russell Simmons.
What is
something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
Nothing
On rituals:
Do you snack
while writing? Favorite snack?
Yes. Chocolate Chip Cookies
Where do you
write?
On my phone, in my bed.
Do you write
every day?
No
What is your
writing schedule?
Mostly weekends
Is there a
specific ritualistic thing you do during your writing time?
I like writing between 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. when
it's incredibly quiet.
In today’s
tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop.
Have you ever written parts of your book on
paper? No.
Fun
stuff:
If you could
go back in time, where would you go?
I wouldn’t.
If anything, I would love to see the future, 2050.
Favorite
travel spot?
Anywhere
in the Caribbean.
Favorite
dessert?
Chocolate Mousse Cake.
If you were
stuck on a deserted island, which 3 books would you want with you?
7 Habits of
Highly Effective People, A Purpose Driven Life, & Do
You.
What’s the
scariest thing that ever happened to you?
I’ve been shot at!
What’s the
strangest thing that ever happened to you?
I observed a UFO.
What’s the
most courageous thing you’ve ever done?
Starting my first business.
Any hobbies?
Playing golf, basketball & high stakes
poker.
If there is
one thing you want readers to remember about you, what would it be?
That I never gave up on myself and I never
will.
What is
something you've learned about yourself during the pandemic?
Solace and self-awareness are good for your
mental growth.
What TV
series are you currently binge watching?
Night Agent on Netflix
What is your
theme song?
“So Ambitious” (Jay-Z & Pharrell Williams)
What is your
favorite thing to do in the spring?
Spend time with family & friends.
What is your
favorite holiday?
I have to love Thanksgiving. It brings everyone together.
What song is
currently playing on a loop in your head?
“Sun Comes Down” (Artist: Fridayy)
What is
something that made you laugh recently?
Instagram clips in general.
What is your
go-to breakfast item?
Steak & Eggs
What is the
oldest item of clothing you own?
Not sure.
Tell us
about your longest friendship.
Max Hernandes, 40+ years. We are like brothers.
I may not talk to him every single day.
However, when we do speak it's as if we talk every single day.
What is the
strangest way you've become friends with someone?
Met two of my best friends in a Madden League
(video games).
Who was your
childhood celebrity crush?
Lisa (Left-Eye) Lopez.
Author
bio:
Marcel Clarke, a serial entrepreneur from
Philadelphia, transformed adversity into ambition. At 15, he overheard his
family planning his life insurance policy, convinced he wouldn't live past 21.
Instead of succumbing to their expectations, he used their doubts as motivation
to redefine his future.
Translating street-learned skills—leadership,
sales, marketing, and strategic thinking—into academia, he earned a B.S. in
Business Administration from Strayer University and an M.A. in Organizational
Communications from Bowie State University.
Today, Clarke's portfolio spans real estate
development, commercial cleaning, stock market and cryptocurrency investments,
and joint ventures.
Website:
https://www.marcelclarke.co
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/marcelclarke_
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZNS3mG
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222448325-hiding-in-plain-view
Trigger Warning: This book
contains mature themes, including strong language, depictions of violence,
substance use, and references to challenging life circumstances. Reader
discretion is advised, particularly for those sensitive to these topics.
Author Marketing Experts:
X: @Bookgal
Instagram: @therealbookgal
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