The Other Wes Moore Follow Up

As I finished my most recent book (see summary below), it posed the question of what made the difference in the two men's lives that changed their fate so drastically? While one of the two ended up becoming a successful politician and writer, the other resides in a state pententury. The differences between the two men are not clear cut, but I will try to point them out. Wes 1 (as I will refer to him as) lived with his mother after his father passed away and eventually moved in with his grandparents. His mother and father were stable but struggled with financial problems. Wes 2 also lived with his mother after his father left as his brother slowly became a big time drug dealer and gangster. Wes 1 had positive role models in his life while Wes 2 did not and this made a big difference in their lives. Wes 1 had others expecting to do better but Wes 2 did not. As a teenager, Wes 1 was sent to military camp where he had to change his attitude whereas Wes 2 never had to change his ways. The Biggest difference was that Wes 1 had a support system who loved him. When he would do the wrong thing, he wasn't just letting down himself, but everyone else. Wes 2 did not have that support system that he could count on and counted on him.