The James Family

Gloria Marie James was sixteen years old, alone and living in Akron, Ohio when she decided her son would have a different life. His father had already left. Her own mother would be gone by the time LeBron was three. What followed were three years of moving. Twelve homes in thirty-six months. Shelters when there was nothing else. When LeBron was nine, Gloria made a decision that must have cost her more than most parents can imagine. She could not give him the stability he needed. So she let him go. She sent him to live with his football coach's family for a year so he could have shelter and regular meals. She chose his wellbeing over her own need to keep him near. LeBron James went on to become one of the greatest athletes in history. But what he talks about most is not the trophies. It is his mother. The sacrifices she made. The love she gave when she had nothing left to give it with. The person who stayed. "I am who I am because of your sacrifices," he wrote to her. "You mean beyond the world to me."