Every single person is born with the ability to make a difference in somebody's life. It's just that simple.
Leigh Anne Tuohy of "The Blind Side" fame has chosen Chattanooga as the official kickoff site for her new book.
In town for today's She Expo, Tuohy will discuss the book, titled "Turn Around," at the event, which is produced by the Times Free Press. The book offers day-by-day advice based on scripture to help people find continuing ways to help their communities.
Known for speaking her mind, Tuohy uses her speaking engagements to offer her basic philosophy of life.
"Every single person is born with the ability to make a difference in somebody's life. It's just that simple," she told the Wisconsin State Journal in April.
Tuohy, 54, first started her rise to fame with the 2006 publication of "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis, a book that detailed how Tuohy and her husband, Sean, adopted Michael Oher, a black teenager and football player in Memphis, helped him finish high school and eventually be drafted into the NFL.
The book was made into the 2009 film "The Blind Side," which won a Best Actress Oscar for Sandra Bullock, who portrayed Tuohy in the movie. The Tuohys were in the audience at the Oscars ceremony and politely and quietly applauded when Bullock won. Backstage after accepting the award, Bullock asked Tuohy: "This is the time you chose to be quiet?"
"And I was," Tuohy told the Wisconsin State Journal. "I was very respectful. I didn't want to be some redneck white trash from Tennessee."
The title for "Turn Around" came from the first time she saw Oher walking down a Memphis street.
"It was apparent that he had a need," she said on the TV show "Life Today." "It was chilly and he had on shorts and a T-shirt, which was inappropriate for that time of year. As a mother, that was the first thing that said, 'You need to do something.'
"I told Sean to turn around and those two words have become very impactful to our family and we think everyone should do that because turning around and seeing what's to your left and what's to your right, get out of your comfort zone, can have a huge impact.
"We know there are thousands of Michael Ohers who are walking the streets everywhere and if you take these kids and give them love and opportunity, we can change this country," she continued. "We firmly believe that the kid that knows the cure for cancer or could be the best geography teacher or the best minister is walking the inner city of Memphis or Detroit or Tampa or Dallas."