20th-century addiction adversity african-american african-american-experience african-american-literature alienation ambition america american american-author american-dream american-history american-literature american-society architecture authenticity betrayal biography black-experience boston brotherhood building character character-building character-development character-driven civil-rights coming-of-age commitment community compassion conformity conscience construction courage craftsmanship creativity cultural-critique david-brooks dedication design determination discipline discrimination disillusionment domestic-life domesticity dreams dysfunctional empathy ethical-behavior ethics existentialism faith family family-dynamics freedom friendship growth harlem harlem-renaissance historic-preservation historical history home home-improvement homelessness homeownership honesty house housing housing-crisis human-nature humanity humility identity identity-crisis individualism individuality inner-strength inner-transformation inspiration inspirational integrity interior-design introspection introspective introspective-journey investigative-journalism investigative-reporting invisibility invisible invisible-man isolation jazz journalism journey kidder leadership life-lessons loss love massachusetts maturity meaning-of-life meaningful-life memoir mental-health mental-illness modernism moral moral-compass moral-development moral-philosophy moral-values morality narrative narrative-nonfiction new-england non-fiction nonfiction oppression patience perseverance personal-development personal-growth personal-journey personal-narrative personal-transformation philosophical philosophy poverty power power-dynamics prejudice preservation protagonist psychology pulitzer-prize pulitzer-prize-winner pulitzer-prize-winning pulitzer-prize-winning-author purpose race racism real-estate recovery redemption reflection relationship relationships renovation resilience restoration rural rural-life sacrifice segregation self-awareness self-discipline self-discovery self-examination self-help self-improvement self-reflection selflessness small-town social-class social-commentary social-inequality social-injustice social-issues social-justice societal-norms societal-values society soul-searching southern-united-states spirituality stereotypes storytelling struggle suburban-life success symbolism the-road-to-character tracy transformation triumph true-story underground urban-planning values virtue virtue-ethics virtues wisdom writing