Grace after midnight: a memoir: Felicia "Snoop" Pearson

Felicia Pearson plays one of the most terrifying roles on television today: a cold-blooded, baby-faced killer known as Snoop, the androgynous hit woman on HBO's The Wire.

What's interesting about Pearson's role is that her life is a twist on the adage that "life imitates art far more than art imitates life." For she has actually lived much of the very lifestyle she portrays on television.

In real life, Pearson, 27, was born addicted to crack in East Baltimore, Md., and raised by foster parents. As a young girl, she thrived as a baby "gangsta," she says, and eventually landed in prison for killing a woman in an act of self-defense. While in prison, she continued to rebel until the death of a mentor "on the outside" forced her to re-evaluate her life. After her release from prison, she was discovered in a nightclub and recruited by Michael K. Williams, a cast member of The Wire. That's when art began to imitate Pearson's astonishing life.

She writes about her experiences in a memoir, GRACE AFTER MIDNIGHT (Grand Central, $22), a gripping story of overcoming obstacles in the face of great adversity and finding hope in the most unlikely place--television. The book, written with award-winning author David Ritz, beams with street literature chapter titles, including "Everything Moves Off Money," "Death Up Close" and "Life Ain't No Movie."

Pearson, who is happily single, takes a few moments from her busy schedule to chat about the book and what's next for her after this final season of The Wire.

EBONY: What motivated you to write the book?

PEARSON: To tell the story while it was fresh. I'm a beginner to everything like acting and writing books. I love being a beginner to all of this. I'm learning a lot of things.

EB: Have you adapted to the Hollywood lifestyle?

FP: Yes and no. Yes, because of my fame and no, because I can't get with some of the things that Hollywood has to offer like the fake noses and all of that (she says with a hearty laugh). The plastic surgery is unreal.

EB: The Wire has a lot of violence, and it's focused on African-Americans. Do you think shows like it contribute to negative stereotyping of African-Americans?

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

FP: The Wire has a lot of violence and a lot of messages for African-Americans who are screaming out for help in areas like education. That's not just in Baltimore. That's all over the nation, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Yet, cities want to build more jails and courthouses and neglect their school systems. The message is for cities to put the money in the schools and build fewer jails. The show is just a reflection of what's going on in society.

EB: Are you sad that the show is coming to a close? What are your plans for the future?

FP: I'm sad, but I'm not sad. The end of the show represents a new beginning for me. And I'm going to fulfill my goal to keep moving forward. I'm working on two movies, and I plan to go on tour to talk about my book.

EB: Your memoir is riveting. What was it like in prison?

FP: In prison, you always have someone telling you what to do, like when to [shower], when to eat and when to turn off your television or radio. It's sickening. You have no control over your life. I don't ever want to go through that experience again. I will never forget it. The lesson is that you can be bold and have the eye of the tiger in you, but when you get behind that cage, you will break down. I want people to learn from my story.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning