NEW YORK -- Dondré Whitfield is an Emmy-Award winning actor, father, and author on a mission to help people become the best versions of themselves.
"Right now, humanity is on fire. My job is to be a firefighter and not another arsonist," said Dondré
Despite now being married to award-winning actress and director Salli Richardson Whitfield with whom he has two beautiful children, Dondré's life was not always a picture-perfect success story.
When he was just 13 years old, his father was sent to prison for manslaughter. "I didn't see him until I was 26," he says, "By the age of 14 I was already well-groomed to either harm someone, or harm myself."
But instead of following down this dark path, Dondré found himself motivated to find a higher purpose and to help others do the same. "A man, for a boy, is supposed to be a model that he can safely mirror. And my father being in and out of jail my entire life was probably the chief motivator of why I wrote Male vs Man," he says.
The book, which Dondré wrote to help teach young men how to be better adults and to help couples connect on a deeper level, became part of his mission in life after his father passed away. "On my father's deathbed he said, 'I would have been a better man if someone had taught me how to be'," said Dondré.
The book, which Dondré wrote to help teach young men how to be better adults, and to help couples connect on a deeper level, became part of his mission in life after his father passed away. "On my father's deathbed he said, 'I would have been a better man if someone had taught me how to be,'" said Dondré.
Dondré hopes that through his books, others can realize that finding success and happiness is not always an easy path. "Interestingly enough, that's what it took in order for me to be activated to become this person of purpose that helps other people come to the better versions of themselves," he said about the hardships in his life. "Because I was struggling to get to it myself."
You can find more information about Dondre's book, Male vs Man at: https://www.dondrewhitfield.com/