By the age of 16, Michael is the largest student in his school. Leigh Anne gives Michael’s measurements to one of her clients, an NFL player, and asks him to find hand-me-downs from his teammates. The player informs Leigh Anne that they do not have any players whose measurements match Michael’s. He is larger than anyone on the NFL team. Lewis describes Michael as having big hands, carrying his weight in his lower half, and having strong, quick feet—all qualities prized in left tackles—and being a quiet loner who mostly kept to himself. During the time he lives in Hurt Village, the East Memphis housing project, Michael has a close friend called Craig who is, like Michael, quiet and shy.

Michael, his brothers, and sisters live with their alcohol and crack cocaine-addicted mother. When Michael is eight, police raid the shed where the family is living. Michael and his brothers run away, but the police take his sisters, and the boys never see them again. Picked up by police at school, Michael is placed in a foster home, from which he runs away three times. After his third attempt, authorities place him in a psychiatric hospital. Michael again runs away and returns to his mother.