Derrick was destined to fall through society's cracks from the beginning. Derrick was one of the many 1980s working-class latch-key kids from yet another dysfunctional home. By the time Derrick was 15 years old, he was homeless, living on the streets of Seattle, and addicted to drugs and drinking, setting him on a path of self-destruction and prison. Imprisoned by the age of 16, thinking the world was out to get him, little did he know that it would be a God intervention. At the age of 19, he was released from prison, a boy in a man's body, to begin his search for meaning, finding little truths in a series of failed relationships before finally finding the answers to why his life was so screwed up. It had been right in front of him the whole time, but he could not see the truth because he was self-centered and ego-driven. That was until she came into his life. The one. The one who would turn his life upside down. He never thought he would ever be destined for great things, unconditional love, nor happiness, but rather, he was destined for a life of imprisonment or death. That was until she gave him the greatest gift of all. But at what price would it cost them?

Fighting against the backdrop of his past, the Great Recession, the War on Terror, and a middle-aged man's fears that he'll never be enough, The Hummingbird Effect reveals the real-life struggles that must be overcome to defer from repeating the same inherited horrific cycle handed down to him, to creating something miraculous and beautiful.
Inspired by actual events, author Richard Powell delves into a familiar story, though not often told, to examine heartache, confusion, frustration, unconditional love, joy, and forgiveness-and he finds the reasons to start living and quit existing.