I was raised in a small segregated suburban town by parents who did the best they could with what they knew. In other words, they were only able to parent with the awareness and understanding they had at that time. I preface this by saying, much of whom we are today has to do with who our parents or the person/people who raised us were. Look back on your childhood to better understand who you ultimately became. There lies the beginning of your backstory.

When I entered the real world, I learned the word of God does not go void. We all will have a story, and mine encompasses the bad, the good, and the ugly. So anxious to live independently, I did not think twice about what that entailed. I chose to write this book to share my story and to empower women to live their lives to the fullest. Regardless of what we face, if we remain steadfast when confronted with trials and tribulations, we will persevere. One epiphany I’ve gleaned is that we should not try to escape from our hardships prematurely. It is the experience of working through our hardships that enables us to mature and develop. It's a plight none of us can avoid. But God is His omniscience will make provisions for us during our trials and tribulations.

If you know someone or if you personally have experienced being -treated inhumanely based on skin color, sexuality, addiction to drugs, physically disabled, and/ or mental illness, how did it make you feel? Being subjected to moral, ethical, illegal exclusion has consequences emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Think about the images of racism, inequality, and inhumane actions and emotions of particular groups of people. How dare someone make a quick judgment of an entire race —the audacity to label themselves as superior. It is difficult to wrap my head around the racism and inequality pandemic, mainly when all we want is so basic---equality.

Our society’s social media frenzy is taking comparing ourselves to others to a whole new level. How fascinated and concerned we are with what other people are doing! Better yet, how obsessed have we become about whether they respond to our post, than in engaging in what’s necessary to ensure the quality of our own lives? What an addictive, time-consuming phenomenon! Is it that we are more concerned about them, or is all this comparison more about ourselves? I tend to think it is more about ourselves, and here is why. We evaluate others to measure our own abilities and options. Therefore, others are used as a point of reference to make a justifiable judgment of who we are. Sadly, we may even try to find our identity in who they are.

Ironically, wearing masks (during the pandemic) is a barrier to preventing respiratory droplets from spreading onto other people, causing them harm. Figuratively wearing one is also a barrier that prevents you from being your authentic self, and that too can cause harm.

When we diminish our own value, we demonstrate a lack of self-respect, self-confidence, and self-worth. Negatively perceiving ourselves will affect many aspects of our life experiences that prevent us from living our best life. Initially, I did not fully understand that esteem issues were an issue for me. I may have projected self-confidence, respect for myself, and even believed I loved myself. However, my actions displayed something different.

When I accepted God as my Lord and Savior, things in my life got crazy, really crazy. That was confusing because I’d heard time after time again that if I turned my life over to God, as a follower of Jesus, my life would change for the better. Unfortunately, I did not find this to be the case.

This letter has been written in the context of past experiences that have not been dealt with. Has there been a situation in your life that evoked a feeling of discomfort or uneasiness? If this is the case, keep in mind external storms can lead to internal storms that will affect you physically, emotionally, and mentally.

My intent of this letter, ladies, is to highlight the chemical changes stress causes in our bodies, which can lead to elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, upset stomach, headaches, etc. In other words, stress can be detrimental, and if not managed appropriately, it can kill you

When you are pregnant with your child, I will bet you spent the majority of the nine months planning and preparing for the birth, and you probably spent at least one year planning your wedding. Knowing your life or the life of someone you love will some day end, why would you spend a mere few hours preparing a plan for the inevitable?

Discussing the end of life or death has to be the most difficult conversation to have.

There are so many of us consumed with questioning what we should be doing or offering the world. While squandering over that, we forget to be fully present in the moment. In the meantime, let's genuinely value ourselves for whatever it is that we contribute. There is no big purpose versus little purpose, and one person's calling or gift is no less significant than another's.

My good place is peace of mind and contentment about what God is unfolding in my life today. I applaud you for being in your good place. Like me, resting in your good place still may not be your daily constant, but it certainly is not where we used to be.