::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

Book Review Whether on stage, in interviews or in his music, Kirk Franklin’s life has been an open book. Fans who read his autobiography, "Church Boy" know Franklin was abandoned as a child and was judged and sometimes rejected by the environment from whence he came. On Oprah he confessed to having a porn addiction in 2005. But there are untold details in Franklin's life story that further shaped him into the man he is today that are now being revealed on the pages of his new book. On May 18 Franklin hopes to help others conquer their personal storms with the release of "The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms" (Gotham Books). In Franklin's self-help digest God is the master architect who has already designed a "time-tested" plan for living blessed lives. He says he learned that anytime he deviated from the Master's plans, he was re-directed and wants to share how finding a successful blueprint for life helped him han...

(New York, NY -- March 10, 2010) -- For some people, obstacles are minor bumps in the road on the way to success. For others, obstacles represent a major catastrophe of epic proportions threatening to disrupt any chance of success they may have otherwise had. But for seven-time GRAMMY® award winner Kirk Franklin, obstacles represent the challenges needed to propel you through life. In THE BLUEPRINT: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms (Gotham Books; May 18, 2010; $25.00), Franklin reveals how he turned negative aspects from his own life-drugs, an absent father, teenage parenthood, poverty, etc.-into blessings by learning from them and moving forward. The beauty of THE BLUEPRINT is that Franklin by no way claims to be perfect or have insider knowledge of how to live your life wisely, but rather puts his setbacks and faults on full blast and suggests that oftentimes people, like Franklin at one point, go through life without a plan for success, simply living purposelessly, and with...

THE BLUEPRINT: A Plan for Overcoming Life’s Obstacles, available May 18 For some people, obstacles are minor bumps in the road on the way to success. For others, obstacles represent a major catastrophe of epic proportions threatening to disrupt any chance of success they may have otherwise had. But for seven-time GRAMMY® award winner Kirk Franklin, obstacles represent the challenges needed to propel you through life. In THE BLUEPRINT: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms (Gotham Books; May 18, 2010; $25.00), Franklin reveals how he turned negative aspects from his own life—drugs, an absent father, teenage parenthood, poverty, etc.—into blessings by learning from them and moving forward. The beauty of THE BLUEPRINT is that Franklin by no way claims to be perfect or have insider knowledge of how to live your life wisely, but rather puts his setbacks and faults on full blast and suggests that oftentimes people, like Franklin at one point, go through life without a plan for success, simp...