Echoes of Cabrini-Green: Letters to My Mother (Illinois Lives)

A powerful memoir of love, survival, and resilience, told through intimate lettersIn Echoes of Cabrini-Green, Rudolph Elliot Willis tells the story of his journey from Chicago's most notorious public housing project to the halls of academia and medicine.Framed as heartfelt letters written after his mother's death, this deeply personal narrative reflects on a childhood shaped by systemic poverty, racism, and uncertainty, showing how faith, education, and resilience can remake lives. Willis recalls the daily struggles of growing up Black in a family of ten children in Cabrini-Green-hunger, fear, and the constant threat of violence-alongside glimpses of neighborly solidarity, faith, and perseverance.He watched his father, a decorated veteran, retreat into silence and alcoholism while his mother's frustration flared into anger.Throughout it all, she remained a moral compass. Her faith in God, unwavering work ethic, and quiet dignity gave her children a vision of something better. A summer