Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus: Life, Lessons, and Leadership is a collection of inspiring and instructive memories compiled from the decade that Mrs. Parks was a guest in author H.H. Leonard's Washington, DC home. During those years, Mrs. Leonards was able to know the heart, mind, and spirit of the woman who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus on December 1, 1955. The author shares her remembrances, both delightful and somber, in a way that offers readers an intimate and personal glimpse into the personhood of Mrs. Parks.

Mrs. Parks is a seminal point in the history of civil, human, and women's rights. Her story, as told through the eyes of H.H. Leonards, also touches on the journey of African-American women who have somehow managed to survive a system that cared little about the indignities they suffered-from discrimination to sexual assault. While many of her contemporaries attempted to define her as the woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus, she was more than the sum of one pivotal decision. She was decidedly multi-dimensional.

Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus is a personal look into Mrs. Parks' life, her thoughts, her beliefs, and her immense wisdom that moved people- from world leaders Nelson Mandela, Deepak Chopra, and Pope John Paul II to the smallest of children-to seek and revere her presence.