"Homeless to Hopkins" reads more like a journal than anything. The author grew up in challenging conditions, with less-than-stellar parents, as well as poverty and tragedy coloring his years. He overcame this through intelligence and hard work, and he certainly succeeded, but a story that's so very rags-to-riches should feel more compelling, and I just didn't get that here.
He's very religious, being a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), and we learn about his doing missionary work in his youth. He also credits God with getting him through his many tough times, although he seems to have been saddled with much more adversity than most. I suppose that's the perspective of someone so religious, and if you are of a similar mind, you may find that compelling, The book is peppered with many religious references, such as "my faith nourished me during this dark time," "sustained by my faith in God," "I felt that this was Divine intervention for us," etc. If that helped him get through and succeed, good for him! But some may find it off-putting.
That aside, it's interesting to see all he got through, from terrible parents to other challenging family members to his sister-in-law's addiction issues to his own wife's medical issues. While all of that sounds like the basis for a rather dramatic autobiography, the writing itself comes across more as a recitation of facts. I didn't expect this to read like a novel, but the entire story was rather flat.