Otis Trotter lives in North Canton, Ohio. He worked with the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities as an instructor until his retirement. He is currently a Certified Independent Provider for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

Organized around the life histories, medical struggles, and recollections of Otis Trotter and his thirteen siblings, Keeping Heart is a personal account of an African American family's journey north during the second Great Migration.