Not Far From The Tree is a son's story about the impact his single African American Mother's teachings had on him and how he used her valuable lessons to go on and excel academically, athletically, and in Corporate America. In "Not Far From The Tree," Simmons shares his life story through a series of smaller stories that range from shocking to calamitous to sorrowful to triumphing. He shares with you how he stumbled across a court document that revealed his Dad's surname was Bailey and that he's not a Simmons, genetically. He tells a story about the time his Grandmother caught him and his cousin peeing out of a window when they were teenagers. Fortunately, the two survived her wrath and ensuing spanking. Simmons also opens up about the tragic loss of his daughter, and the frightening night his Mother was assaulted at gunpoint and his years-long inner anger afterward. You'll walk down the hall with him through the secret tunnel underneath Alabama's State Capitol, where he meets Governor George Corley Wallace for the first time. All he could think about was the Governor's infamous, "Segregation now, Segregation forever" words. Simmons' insight into his remarkable career in Sales and Sales Management with Fortune 500 titans IBM, GE, MCI, and others, reveals his strive for excellence centered around opening doors for other minorities. During his tenure in Corporate America, he became Class President of his IBM sales training class and during international business travels closed sales of $1/2 million, $1 million, and $25 million in Paris, Brussels, and Hong Kong respectively. Throughout his Memoir, Simmons masterfully ties together his Mother's teachings with how he utilized her lessons to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and excel in various aspects of his life.
