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Sep 10, 2009 5:13 pm US/Eastern
CBS Correspondent Reveals Struggles In New Memoir
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Byron Pitts of CBS News
CBS
Byron Pitts is a born story-teller.
He has traveled the world interviewing presidents and potentates but he has a gift for listening and translating lives into words.
"Stories are words and words are like oxygen to me," he said.
But for the "60 Minutes" correspondent and Emmy award-winning journalist, words were at one time a source of frustration and crushing embarrassment.
"I didn't learn to read until I was 12. I stuttered until I was 20," he said.
For a man of words, those memories remain hauntingly clear.
"What it means to be illiterate in this country, to feel isolated and alone and ashamed - that's something I know well," he said.
But the little boy growing up in Baltimore believed in himself and others believed in him - chief among them was his mother, Clarice, who basically raised three kids by herself.
"She had a belief in me and a belief in goodness and a belief in the value of hard work and a belief in the power of prayer and that value system she instilled in me," Pitts said.
Byron and a production crew from "CBS Sunday Morning" are here in Pittsburgh to tell a story about literacy and the good work being done at The Neighborhood Academy in East Liberty.
Rev. Tom Johnson is the school's headmaster.
"It is very gratifying to have what has been a labor of love and joy - the story told - so we're really excited about that," he said.
Byron Pitts will add author to his many credits this fall with the publication of a memoir, "Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges."
In it is a letter from his mom sent when he was ready to drop out of college
"You are a gift from God. The Lord I serve does not make mistakes. You are not coming home. You are not going to give up. You're not going to fail. You're going to endure," she wrote.
"The wisest words I've ever heard were from my mother and it was the philosophy by which she raised her children," Pitts said. "'If you work hard and pray hard and treat people right good things will happen.'"
The story about The Neighborhood Academy will air on CBS Sunday Morning on September 27th.
Byron Pitts' new book will be available on September 29th.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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