PVLF 2025

Chicago Dad Publishes Children's Book to Heal After Son's Tragic Loss

Honoring his late son, Corneal Westbrooks shares love and hope through his book Caleb the Great, celebrating courage, sports, and unbreakable bonds.
on Nov 22, 2024

This is the mission of Corneal Westbrooks after his teenage son was fatally shot on the streets of Chicago nearly three years ago. To honor his son, he has created a children’s book titled “Caleb the Great: Touchdown in New Orleans.”

The book, illustrated by Janine Carrington, is available for purchase on Amazon.
Corneal, who works in pharmaceutical sales and teaches college classes at Dominican University, his alma mater, will attend the sixth annual Black Child Book Fair at the James Jordan Boys and Girls Club on West Monroe Street on Friday, Jan. 31. Hundreds of students from Chicago Public Schools are expected to attend.

In this way, despite his immense loss, Corneal Westbrooks keeps the memory of his son alive while sharing love and hope within the community.

Few experiences in life — if any — can evoke as much grief, sadness, anger, and yearning as a parent losing a child. Corneal Westbrooks has joined a heartbreaking club he never wished to be a part of after the tragic loss of his son Caleb at just 15 years old.

Following his son's murder, Corneal chose to write a children’s book inspired by their shared experiences.

As a single father, he relocated himself and Caleb to New Orleans for work, before moving back to Chicago a few years later. The bond between father and son revolved around their mutual love for sports and the “Madden” football video games. Caleb was also passionate about playing football and forming friendships through the sport.

According to Corneal, his son had a talent for football, although he had hoped Caleb would follow in the footsteps of another Chicago sports icon.

“As someone from Chicago, raised during the Jordan era, I wished for my son to be a basketball player,” Corneal shared. “I wanted him to ‘be like Mike,’ since at 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, I could never reach that ideal.”

“Caleb had different aspirations, and he was passionate about football. I believe what he cherished most about the sport was the sense of camaraderie and being part of a team.”

Upon returning to Chicago, Caleb embraced his love for playing football.

“I was firmly convinced that if I was a good person and raised my son to be one as well, then positive outcomes would follow,” Corneal reflected.

Despite his father's efforts to keep him safe, tragedy reached Caleb on a day in January 2022 after he left Rauner College Prep early.

On the afternoon of January 18, 2022, while en route to catch a bus from school, Caleb was shot in the 800 block of North Greenview Avenue and later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. “I’ve heard that he got out of school early that day because of testing. He and some friends were heading to Wendy’s to eat,” Corneal remembered. “A young man from a nearby school confronted them and threatened to rob them.

“Caleb decided to confront him. In such situations, most people would likely feel fear, but Caleb has always been brave and fearless, so he stood up to this aggressor. Unfortunately, the confrontation escalated and led to a gun being pulled, resulting in Caleb being shot three times.”

As he and his family processed their grief, Corneal realized he needed to take charge of their healing journey. “I was initially filled with anger. It was hard to grapple with that anger,” Corneal admitted. “I didn’t recognize the extent of the weight it was placing on me and those around me.

“Watching my family—my mom, my brother—and the effect it had on them pushed me to step up and be a leader, concentrating more on the legacy Caleb left behind rather than the manner of his passing.”

‘Didn’t want to write that ending’
Even now, Corneal has maintained Caleb’s bedroom exactly as it was on the day he died. He fondly recalls how Caleb enjoyed playing chess, and he still possesses Caleb’s traveling chess set.

In authoring the children’s book, Corneal aims to convey to Caleb’s much younger cousin, 4-year-old Katherine, and to the world the essence of who Caleb was and the experiences they shared—not the circumstances of Caleb’s death.

“Caleb the Great: Touchdown in New Orleans” narrates the story of a father and son as they navigate their new life in the “Big Easy” and illustrates how learning football contributed to the young man’s growth on and off the field.

Corneal’s guiding principle for his son was straightforward: Don’t just be good; strive for greatness.

To other young men, Corneal shares a significant message.
“Don’t hesitate to pursue your dreams,” he urges. “This world offers so much more than just the neighborhood where you were raised.”

Lastly, in the book's joyful conclusion, Caleb and his teammates on the Broncos finish the season undefeated with a record of 14-0.

This serves as a fitting tribute to Caleb’s life.
“In light of how his life concluded, I was determined not to write that ending,” Corneal explained.