Just Keep Pushing is a powerful memoir about survival, faith, fatherhood, loss, incarceration, reentry, and the decision to keep moving forward when life gives you every reason to stop. Born and raised on the south side of Houston, Texas, Ivery Dorsey grew up surrounded by poverty, addiction, instability, and violence. But even as a child, he carried a vivid imagination and a belief that where he started did not have to determine where he would finish. At 33 years old, Ivery was arrested and ultimately convicted of a crime he has consistently maintained he did not commit. He would spend approximately eighteen years incarcerated. Behind prison walls, Ivery refused to allow confinement to take his vision. He continued designing footwear and apparel, creating, studying the law, developing business ideas, fighting for his name, and holding on to the hope of returning to his children and rebuilding his life. But Just Keep Pushing is more than a story about prison. It is a story about a son grieving his mother, a father fighting to remain connected to his children, a man enduring loss after loss, and a dreamer learning how to build purpose from pain. It is about coming home after nearly two decades and discovering that freedom comes with challenges of its own. Through every setback, loss, denial, and unanswered question, one message remained: Keep pushing. For anyone who has ever been overlooked, counted out, knocked down, forced to start over, or wondered whether they had enough left to keep going, Just Keep Pushing is a reminder that one chapter does not have to become the end of your story.
