The Work is the story of how one young man traced a path through the world to find his life's purpose. Wes Moore graduated from a difficult childhood in the Bronx and Baltimore to an adult life that would find him at some of the most critical moments in our recent history: as a combat officer in Afghanistan; a White House fellow in a time of wars abroad and disasters at home; and a Wall Street banker during the financial crisis. In this insightful book, Moore shares the lessons he learned from people he met along the way--from the brave Afghan translator who taught him to find his fight, to the resilient young students in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi who showed him the true meaning of grit, to his late grandfather, who taught him to find grace in service.--Back cover. "Wes Moore's remarkable bestseller The Other Wes Moore ends when Wes completes his journey from a fatherless delinquent to college graduate and heads off to Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. But what happens next? Next, he had to figure out the answer to the question: What is your work? More than finding a job, he had to find the work he was meant to do. For the next decade, Wes traced a path through some of the most fascinating and high-pressure workspaces in the world: an American student at Oxford after 9/11; a combat officer in Afghanistan during the most intense years of fighting; a White House fellow during the tumult of the late Bush years; an Obama organizer during that historic campaign; a Wall Street banker at the cusp of the financial crisis; and finally, back home to Baltimore, working to revitalize that troubled city. This is the story of how one young man traced a path through the world to discover the meaning of his life -- and how after a series of misdirections and lesson-teaching mistakes, he found that meaning in service. Wes weaves the episodes and moments of decision in his own life with those of a dozen other changemakers from every walk of life who confronted the question "what is my work?" and found their own answers, to help readers see how we can each find our own path to purpose and to creating a better world"-- Provided by publisher.

Work to do -- The lesson of the student: come to learn, leave to lead -- The worker #1: The outsider -- The lesson of the professional: the wisdom of quitting -- The worker #2: The believer -- The lesson of the soldier: finding your fight -- The worker #3: The healers -- The lesson of the public servant: the work of the people, by the people, for the people -- The worker #4: The globalist -- The lesson of the risk taker: the gamble of doing nothing -- The worker #5: the risk taker -- The lesson of the worker: granting yourself permission -- The worker #6: the mentor -- The lesson of the family: remember to live -- Appendix: Doing the work.