Becoming Free Indeed: by Jinger Vuolo
Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear by Jinger Vuolo
Jinger Vuolo, the sixth child in the famous Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, recounts how she began to question the unhealthy ideology of her youth and learned to embrace true freedom in Christ.
When Jinger Duggar Vuolo was growing up, she was convinced that obeying the rules was the key to success and God’s favor. She zealously promoted the Basic Life Principles of Bill Gothard.
Jinger, along with three of her sisters, wrote a New York Times bestseller about their religious convictions. She believed this level of commitment would guarantee God’s blessing, even though in private she felt constant fear that she wasn’t measuring up to the high standards demanded of her.
In Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger shares how in her early twenties, a new family member—a brother-in-law who didn’t grow up in the same tight-knit conservative circle as Jinger—caused her to examine her beliefs. He was committed to the Bible, but he didn’t believe many of the things Jinger had always assumed were true. His influence, along with the help of a pastor named Jeremy Vuolo, caused Jinger to see that her life was built on rules, not God’s Word.
Jinger committed to studying the Bible—truly understanding it—for the first time. What resulted was an earth-shaking realization: much of what she’d always believed about God, obedience to His Word, and personal holiness wasn’t in-line with what the Bible teaches.
Now with a renewed faith of personal conviction, Becoming Free Indeed shares what it was like living under the tenants of Bill Gothard, the Biblical truth that changed her perspective, and how she disentangled her faith with her belief in Jesus intact.
Being Somebody and Black Besides by George B. Nesbitt
An immersive multigenerational memoir that recounts the hopes, injustices, and triumphs of a Black family fighting for access to the American dream in the twentieth century.
The late Chicagoan George Nesbitt could perhaps best be described as an ordinary man with an extraordinary gift for storytelling. In his newly uncovered memoir—written fifty years ago, yet never published—he chronicles in vivid and captivating detail the story of how his upwardly mobile Midwestern Black family lived through the tumultuous twentieth century.
Spanning three generations, Nesbitt’s tale starts in 1906 with the Great Migration and ends with the Freedom Struggle in the 1960s. He describes his parents’ journey out of the South, his struggle against racist military authorities in World War II, the promise and peril of Cold War America, the educational and professional accomplishments he strove for and achieved, the lost faith in integration, and, despite every hardship, the unwavering commitment by three generations of Black Americans to fight for a better world.
Through all of it—with his sharp insights, nuance, and often humor—we see a family striving to lift themselves up in a country that is working to hold them down.
Nesbitt’s memoir includes two insightful forewords: one by John Gibbs St. Clair Drake (1911–90), a pioneer in the study of African American life, the other a contemporary rumination by noted Black studies scholar Imani Perry. A rare first-person, long-form narrative about Black life in the twentieth century, Being Somebody and Black Besides is a remarkable literary-historical time capsule that will delight modern readers.
Black Joy by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
With deeply personal and uplifting essays in the vein of Black Girls Rock, You Are Your Best Thing, and I Really Needed This Today, this is “a necessary testimony on the magic and beauty of our capacity to live and love fully and out loud” (Kerry Washington).
When Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts wrote an essay on Black joy for The Washington Post, she had no idea just how deeply it would resonate. But the outpouring of positive responses affirmed her own lived experience: that Black joy is not just a weapon of resistance, it is a tool for resilience.
With this book, Tracey aims to gift her community with a collection of lyrical essays about the way joy has evolved, even in the midst of trauma, in her own life. Detailing these instances of joy in the context of Black culture allows us to recognize the power of Black joy as a resource to draw upon, and to challenge the one-note narratives of Black life as solely comprised of trauma and hardship.
“Lewis-Giggetts etches a stunning personal map that follows in her ancestors’ footsteps and highlights their ability to take control of situational heartbreak and tragedy and make something better out of it….A simultaneously gorgeous and heartbreaking read” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
Call Me a Woman: On Our Way to Equality and Peace by Laurie Levin
It’s time to raise the bar. There are more months in the year than countries in the world where women and men have equal rights. This imbalance is the cause of the most pressing challenges we face today.
Angry about sexism and misogyny and what you personally have endured? Afraid the world won’t get its act together in time to save itself?
Call Me A Woman combines Laurie Levin’s personal story, including multiple sexual assaults, years of research, personal interviews, global studies, and activism to ramp up awareness and change perceptions of how we view what happens to girls and women world-wide.
Equality can become our reality when each of us comes to terms with how we uphold inequality. The long-standing domination of men over women is reflected in our language, traditions, choices, votes, and what we do and don’t pay attention to.
Call Me A Woman is a call to action and roadmap that will speed our way to gender equality and a more peaceful world.
After all, women are half of every race, religion, ethnic group, economic class, and nation.
Become part of the solution and create a safer and more just world for girls and women. When women rise, we take the world with us.
Cooking from the Spirit by Tabitha Brown
Cooking from the Spirit: Easy, Delicious, and Joyful Plant-Based Inspirations by Tabitha Brown
Tabitha Brown, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Feeding the Soul, presents her first cookbook—full of easy, family-friendly vegan recipes and stories from the spirit, inspired by her health journey and love of delicious food.
Sometimes people say to Tabitha Brown, “I’ve never eaten vegan before.” As Tab says, “Have you ever eaten an apple?”
After living with a terrible undiagnosed illness for more than a year and a half, Tab was willing to try anything to stop the pain. Inspired by the documentary What the Health, she tried a thirty-day vegan challenge—and never looked back. Wanting to inspire others to make changes that might improve their own lives, she started sharing her favorite plant-based recipes in her signature warm voice with thousands, and now millions, of online fans.
Tab’s recipes are flexible, creative, and filled with encouragement, so you trust yourself to cook food the way it makes you happy. If you’re already a “cooking from the spirit” sort of person, you’ll love how much freedom Tab gives to make these delicious vegan dishes your own. If you’re newer to cooking—or to vegan cooking—Tab will help you get comfortable in the kitchen and, most important, have fun doing it!
In this joyful book, Tab shares personal stories, inspirational “Tabisms,” and more than eighty easy, family-friendly recipes.
Cooking from the Spirit is for anyone interested in plant-based eating and all lovers of food, plus anyone who wants a little warm inspiration in their lives. As Tab says, “Honey, now let’s go on and get to cooking from the spirit. Yes? Very good!”
Courage to Pursue by Lisa Blackmon
Courage to Pursue is a guide in which readers will experience how they can conquer the spirit of fear to turn their dreams into a reality. Each part of this book encourages readers to move out of their comfort zone to find the courage they need to succeed.
Blackmon takes the readers through a series of points to get them to understand their purpose. She gives tips to the readers about what they should do to be all they can be. This book is full of positive affirmations that will allow readers to believe in themselves over and over again.
Blackmon uses her life moments to share with readers how she had to use courage to get where she is right now. She transparently shares with the readers how she refused to allow fear to stop her and encourages them not to allow it to stop them. Readers are prompted to tap into their Five W’s and one H (Who, What, When, Why and How) to understand and develop their own purpose on earth.
This amazing book not only inspires, but also helps the reader to develop into the person they have always dreamed of becoming. Blackmon writer’s voice is similar to that of a life coach. It is inspiring, rather than condescending. This touch allows the reader to understand that no matter what they’ve experienced in life, they can still move forward into all God has for them. Lisa has created a unique and classic guide to develop courage in every individual who has lost hope in completing their dreams.
Purchase: http://lisabthelifechanger.com/product/courge-to-pursue/
About the Author
Lisa Blackmon fondly known as LisaB, is a motivation speaker, coach, mentor, author and business woman. She is passionate about seeing lives changed and when necessary resurrected.
After 20 years in the legal field as an attorney, she felt a prompting to do more and serve on another level in order to reach the masses that she has been divinely destined to impact. From this revelation, LisaBtheLifechanger was birthed, motivational videos hit social media and inspiring information flooded her page calling an audience of ordinary people like herself to become their own rescue.
Those that engaged have become known as a tribe of Lifechangers. This tribe is not only changing their own lives but creating a culture of change in the lives of others.
“Courage to Pursue” encapsulates LisaB’s coaching helps other to discover their God given purpose, create a action plan to make it happen and get in action to manifest their dreams.
LisaB is a Southern girl that loves good music, a good book and sharing her world with family and friends. Most of all she, is an advocate for change and growth even if it means doing what is necessary with “knees knocking.” Her mantra is “Provoking You to Think, Promoting You to Change.”
Connect with LisaB, The Life Changer – Life Changer
Purchase book on Lisa’s Website: http://lisabthelifechanger.com
Delayed But Not Denied 3 by Asia Williams
Delayed But Not Denied 3: Real People Sharing Stories about Healing and Growth by Julia D. Shaw (Compiler) and Toni Coleman Brown (Compiler)
The one common thread that binds over forty-five aspiring writers is the Delayed But Not Denied Book Series. The contributors of all three books share a diverse tapestry of insight, which is woven together by the drive to define their own successes. They share their stories of tragedies and triumphs with the prayer that, a sentence, a paragraph or a chapter will empower others to push a bit harder and to be their authentic self.
In Delayed But Not Denied Book 3: Real People Sharing Stories About Healing and Growth, each woman’s testimony lets readers know that regardless of what you have been through you are extraordinary too!
About the Compiler
Julia D. Shaw is a passionate entrepreneur with more than thirty years of professional experience. Julia’s current business venture is the Collaborative Experience, Inc., a life empowerment company with business partner Toni Coleman Brown. As publishers, they have compiled a series of Amazon bestselling books and created the opportunity for more than fifty writers to become published co-authors.
The series includes Delayed But Not Denied 1: 20 Stories about Life and Resiliency, followed by Delayed But Not Denied 2: Real Stories about Hope, Faith, and Triumph, and Delayed but Not Denied Book 3: Real People Sharing Stories About Healing and Growth. As a freelance publicist, Shaw’s client list included Iyana Vansant, Michael Biased, Circle of Sisters Expo, and the International African Arts Festival, to name a few.
Julia consults with the National Black Writers Conference, the Small Business Bootcamp for Women, The Network Journal Magazine’s 40 Under Forty Achievement Awards, and the 25 Influential Women in Business Awards.
Julia is a contributing author to the Amazon bestseller Network to Increase Your Net Worth, compiled by Toni Coleman Brown, and she was featured in Stepping’ Out with Attitude: Sister, Sell your Dream by Anita Buckley. Shaw is the proud mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three, she resides in Queens, New York.
Toni Coleman Brown is an author, coach, marketing expert, and motivational speaker. She is also the CEO and founder of the Network for Women in Business, an online community for women business owners who seek affordable cutting-edge training and the ability to connect and advance with other like-minded individuals. The motto for the Network is “We EDUCATE to ELEVATE women in business.”
Toni is also the host and creator of the Small Business Bootcamp for Women and the Online Marketing Mastermind Live events. Toni has been featured in the New York Amsterdam News, the Network Journal Magazine, Our Time Newspaper, Black Enterprise Online, Working Woman Magazine, and WPIX 11’s Working Woman Report.
She is the author of Quantum Leap: How to Make a Quantum Leap in Your Network Marketing Business and the compiler and co-author of Network to Increase Your Net Worth and Delayed But Not Denied: 20 Inspirational Stories of Life and Resiliency. Toni is on a mission to fulfill her God-ordained purpose of changing the lives of millions. Toni lives in Queens, New York, with her husband and two daughters.
Falling Through the Ceiling: Our ADHD Family Memoir by Audrey R. Jones and Larry A. Jones
Falling Through the Ceiling: Our ADHD Family Memoir, is a poignant book about the challenges encountered by both parents and children as they cope with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The authors, Audrey and Larry Jones, provide a sensitive, knowledgeable, and often humorous account of the obstacles inherent in raising children with ADHD. They describe their personal journey, from dating to marriage to parenthood and grandparenthood.
Although they put their experience in the context of every family’s aspirations, they also highlight the unique experiences of Black American families who are navigating the complex process of coming to terms with ADHD.
The authors take the reader through the early childhood years, when ADHD can result in academic frustrations and often dramatic childhood pranks. They then move on through adolescence and young adulthood, when, for youth with ADHD, the launch into independence can be fraught with more than the average obstacles.
As the authors tell their family’s story, each of them stops along the way to reflect on the personal impact of the children’s challenges and to share their perspective’s on how they might have handled things differently. This book will be an inspiration for the thousands of families who are confronted with ADHD.
About the Authors
Married over 46 years, Audrey and Larry Jones, MD are parents, grandparents, and fun-loving mates who enjoy each other’s company, civic, volunteer and cultural activities and frequent traveling. They had a whirlwind spring romance in 1970 as college students, married in late summer of 1972, and in four years had three sons, one right after the other.
As expensive, dangerous behaviors continued to be repeated, they sought help from teachers and therapists regarding their children. During his adolescence, each child was diagnosed with ADHD, just as hyperactive disorder was becoming a recognized clinical condition. For at least 20 years of his career as a pediatrician Larry did not link his children’s symptoms and signs of ADHD to himself.
In 2008, Audrey was stricken with an illness, which took its toll on her health and led to a permanent disability. Her gift of recovery included an opportunity for Larry and Audrey to seriously reflect on their sons’ actions, starts and misfires as young adults pursuing college educations and meaningful employment as they all lived with the challenges of ADHD. Rather than just writing about the road to recovery, Audrey and Larry chose to tell their whole story, with the intent of helping other families acknowledge and address behaviors that can adversely affect couples and families.
Family Is Not Everything by Anita Washington
Family Is Not Everything: How To Minimize Their Mess, Maximize Your Happiness and Enjoy Emotional Baggage Breakthroughs by Anita Washington. Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CCz2njWX
Family Is Not Everything: How To Minimize Their Mess, Maximize Your Happiness and Enjoy Emotional Baggage Breakthroughs by Anita Washington
7 Simple Steps to Create A Life You’ll Absolutely Love Living!
Are people constantly dumping their negative energy on you? Do you find yourself bombarded with negative thoughts? What if with seven simple steps you could minimize their mess and maximize your happiness? Interested? Read on…
Author Anita Washington survived a homicidal alcoholic father, a neglectful mother, and an emotionally and physically abusive brother to create a life of purpose and joy.
In Family is Not Everything she shares stories you can relate to and the steps to help you finally breakthrough what is keep you stuck, so you can revise, reinvent and thrive!
This book is for you if you:
- Are bombarded with negative thoughts
- Talk yourself out of trying new things
- Have low self-esteem and low self-confidence
- Are an overachiever in one area of your life but struggle in other areas
- Are tired of people constantly dumping their negative energy on you
- Feel like your life lacks purpose and meaning
Let’s face it. Carrying around emotional baggage for decades is hard work. It sucks! Anita knows this all too well. Her dysfunctional upbringing morphed into a broken and debilitated young woman who, as you’ll find out, made plenty of life-altering mistakes.
You’ll be moved by the vivid and transparent personal stories of violent abuse and realize that you are not alone. The author shares how she learned how to lose her emotional baggage and break the cycle of despair. Anita believes that your past doesn’t define your destiny and shouldn’t stop you from living your best life now!
Family is Not Everything offers a proven simple 7-Step Method to minimize the mess of your past and maximize your happiness – starting today. The process involves seven sequential steps that have helped countless women rise above the glass ceiling to reach higher levels of success and happiness in life. And it can work for you too!
The 7 steps are:
1. Life Mapping
2. Track and Trace Your Life
3. Dispose of Distractions
4. Celebrating Self
5. Inner peace and quiet
6. Emotional Equation
7. Letters of Gratitude
As you do the affirmations, results-driven techniques, and actionable activities of the 7-Step Methodyou’ll begin to release your emotional baggage and create a life you will absolutely love living. After reading this book you will:
- Be equipped to boldly go beyond your comfort zone
- Have the tools to refresh, reinvent, and revise your life for the better
- Know how to transform negative thinking into positive thinking
- Learn how to release fear and get out of survival mode
- Be empowered to do more for yourself and demand even more from others
- Experience success in every area of your life
Isn’t it time to change your self-sabotaging behavior, defy your limiting beliefs, and create a life of abundant joy? Click on Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature to begin reading and access the six free downloadable resources to help with your journey of transformation and empowerment.
Girl Get Up! – 21 Day Devotional by Temeka Davis
Girl Get Up!: 21 Day Devotional and Journal by Temeka Davis
Girl Get Up is a 21-day devotional and journal that will encourage, inspire and motivate you to Get Up!
Get up and go get everything God has for you! Girl get up and get moving! Get up and pray!
You have dreams, goals and visions that you need to work on. There’s a journal included in the back of the book for you to write down things as God speaks to you.
Get up and start that business. Get up and go back to school. Get up and move!
I Did It to Myself: True Confessions of an Overachiever by Edgar L. Vann
I Did It to Myself: True Confessions of an Overachiever by Edgar L. Vann offers strategies on cultivating a healthy life-work balance. Read an excerpt today: http://www.edgarlvann.com
I Did It to Myself: True Confessions of an Overachiever by Bishop Edgar L. Vann is the featured book on BAN Radio Show with Ella D. Curry at: http://tobtr.com/s/11041781
Bishop Edgar L. Vann is the anointed Senior Pastor of Second Ebenezer Church, in Detroit, Michigan, where he has served since 1976. For the past 41 years he has been a preacher, teacher and civic leader of the community. Bishop Vann’s ministry focus has always been to encourage people to aspire to a higher level of spiritual, personal and transformational growth. With a membership of over 6,000 and over 20 ministries in operation, Bishop Vann is led by God’s Voice to empower his flock with the Word of God.
Bishop Vann has traveled and preached the Word of God extensively throughout the world including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Haiti, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. He is a product of Wayne State University, and the University of Detroit, with a Doctorate of Divinity from Urban Bible College and St. Thomas Christian College, and a Doctorate of Laws Degree from Tennessee School of Religion.
Bishop Vann has had extensive community involvement, serving on several boards throughout the state of Michigan. A few of his civic and community organizations have included: Mosaic Youth Theater, Wayne State University’s Research & Technology Park, The Skillman Foundation, Detroit Regional Chamber, Michigan Coalition of Human Rights, Detroit Institute of Arts, Henry Ford Health System, Commissioner for the Detroit Police Department, Habitat for Humanity, and the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. He is also an inductee in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He has also served as consultant and advisor to governors, mayors, civic officials and corporate executives throughout the state of Michigan.
He is the visionary behind over $65 million of development in the city of Detroit; $25 million is invested in the 15-acre Worship Center, located on Dequindre Road, at I-75 and East McNichols in Detroit, Michigan. Bishop Vann is the Founder of the Vanguard Community Development Corporation where $63 million dollars of housing and commercial property has been developed, by way of affordable real estate housing and commercial developments, including a $9 million dollar, 48-unit senior citizen complex.
In 2008, Bishop Vann was elevated to the Office of Bishop by the Joint College of African-American Bishops, and is now the Presiding Prelate over The Kingdom Alliance Covenant Fellowship.
Bishop Vann has been a wonderful and devoted husband to Elder Sheila Renee’ Vann for 40 years and they are the proud parents of two wonderful young adults, Edgar III and Ericka Monique.
Island Mindfulness: How to Use the Transformational Power of Mindfulness to Live an Abundant Life by Janet Autherine
“DON’T WORRY, EVERYTHING IS IRIE.”
Island Mindfulness: How to Use the Transformational Power of Mindfulness to Live an Abundant Life by Janet Autherine
Island Mindfulness creates a path for transformation through self-empowerment, meaningful relationships, spiritual fulfillment and the creation of a purposeful life. Who you become and how you experience the world is a result of how you see everything that exists around you. When mindfulness is practiced, the mind has the ability to ride the waves of life and find calm in the midst of all the sun, wind, and rain that we encounter on our unpredictable journey.
Janet invites you to slow your pace, and in the spirit of the islands, mindfully and intentionally embark on a journey to nourish your mind, body and soul. Her “island mindfulness” journey is filled with heartfelt stories of navigating love, marriage and divorce, adjusting your sail in the face of financial and career challenges, and having an Irie time raising children.
Island Mindfulness is a gift of peace and a treasure box of life lessons. Take a mindful moment to embrace joy — say no to negative news, negative body image and everything that keeps you from living your best life. Island Mindfulness is the peace needed to love and embrace the person that you are today.
Purchase Island Mindfulness: How to Use the Transformational Power of Mindfulness to Live an Abundant Life by Janet Autherine, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Janet-Autherine/e/B00KXINZJM
Jefa in Training: The Business Startup Toolkit for Entrepreneurial and Creative Women by Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda
Step-by-Step Toolkit to Turn Your Passion Project into a Successful Business
“…a much-needed guide for all of us who need a blueprint to becoming a successful entrepreneur.” —Eva Longoria, award-winning actress, producer, director, activist, philanthropist and CEO of UnbeliEVAble Entertainment
Women, now is the time to build your enterprise. Jefa in Training is the only Spanglish project-launching toolkit and female entrepreneur planner specially made for a new generation of boss women.
A solopreneur and small business guide. A business startup planner and toolkit for women in leadership, business, and beyond, Jefa in Training offers women entrepreneurs the female empowerment needed to take a side hustle to the next level. Whether it’s learning to define your brand, set up a beta test group, or draft an LLC operating agreement, this compendium of lessons, anecdotes, worksheets, templates, and quotes teaches the next generation of women in business how to work for yourself and turn your ideas into something much bigger.
Solopreneurs and creatives, you are invited to let go of your fears and finally launch your blog, project, or platform. Jefa in Training isn’t your typical small business book. Part Latinx book, it is a conversation with a special tribe of Latina immigrants, Hispanic American generations, and women of color in financial, media, entrepreneurial, and creative spaces. Explore a more complex view of Latinidad, covering everything from imposter syndrome to micro-aggressions and bilingualism.
Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda is an author, community-builder, business development strategist, coach, and socialpreneur. Originally from Queens, NYC and born to a Mexican mom and French-American father, Ashley’s career started in the music industry in 2012, working at major record labels, publishers, and venues. After relocating to Portland, OR post-college, she created her own network for local womxn songwriters, now a national organization that has been featured in The Recording Academy, called #WomxnCrush Music.
Since the rapid growth of her organization, she has dedicated her career to creating opportunities and developing businesses and communities of underrepresented entrepreneurs through her coaching and consulting, and has become known as the Business Hada Madrina (Business Fairygodmother).
Leadership in Action: 5 Key Principles of Effective Racial Justice Work by Kofi Annan
As painful and upsetting as George Floyd’s murder was, it was encouraging to witness not just the intense condemnation–and ultimate prosecution–of the officers involved, but the almost universal recognition that that incident was a mere symptom of a greater problem, systemic racism.
In the subsequent months, more resources and energy were invested into efforts to fight systemic racism than ever before. America experienced the largest and longest-running protests in its history, and corporate America pledged over $200 billion to racial justice initiatives.
Unfortunately, according to research conducted by Forbs Magazine, as of late 2022 the majority of that money either went unspent while the rest was spent on efforts that had little systemic impact. The problem is that even individuals and organizations that have the best of intentions are clueless about how to craft an effective strategy to conduct racial justice activism. This work can be daunting, and even seasoned veterans can become overwhelmed or burned out.
In this book, Kofi Annan, a nationally recognized racial justice activist, and award-winning author lays out his five key guiding principles for conducting efficient and effective racial justice work. The guide serves as a tool for individuals, corporations, or non-profit organizations whose heart is in the right place but could use help crafting a strategy.
Connect with Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan is the author of the award-winning book, Bull in a China Shop: Evolution of a Racial Justice Activist, and Leadership in Action: 5 Key Principles of Effective Racial Justice Work. He and his wife founded Fighting Words LLC, a racial justice and DEI Consulting Company in 2023. He is the former president of The Activated People (TAP), an independent activist organization dedicated to promoting racial equity.
Kofi previously served two terms as the president of the Fairfax County, Virginia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was awarded the NAACP’s Thalheimer Award for being the best branch in the country in 2018.
Kofi is also the owner of Soul Rebel, a food truck based in northern Virginia that serves a unique blend of Caribbean-American fusion cuisine.
Kofi Annan served eight years in the U.S. Army and holds a Master’s of Science in International Relations from Troy University, and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Tennessee State University.
Website: https://42fightingwords.com/books-1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1942fightingwords/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084925573429
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fighting-words-llc/?viewAsMember=true
My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One: A Journey of Sacrifice, Service, Family, and Friendship by Glenn W. Powell
Sergeant Glenn W. Powell’s MY LAST BAGGAGE CALL is the story of a most unlikely young man who leaves his working-class environment of Toledo, Ohio, to become a soldier. Seeking excitement and a way to “make something of himself,” Glenn Powell’s journey exceeds his wildest dreams—a journey that began in basic training in Fort Hood, Texas ends at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue—the most important address in the world.
MY LAST BAGGAGE CALL is about so much more than Glenn Powell’s military journey, but about poignant memories of family, friendships, sacrifices, and love—central to his story is Ronda Holloway, the beautiful young woman he falls in love with in Manheim, Germany, and, who joins him on his life journey as wife, soulmate and mother to their two sons.
MY LAST BAGGAGE CALL offers readers a glimpse into Sergeant Glenn Powell’s 30-year transformation from the much-beloved boy who seeks more in life…to the man, who discovers it—in adventure, in friendships, and in service to three American presidents. a service he delivered with pride, unquestioned loyalty, distinction and in the end, great admiration.
About the Author
Purposeful Living Journey by Patricia L Gadsden
Purposeful Living Journey by Patricia L Gadsden
Still trying to figure out your life’s purpose? Look no further. This journal provides you with many exercises and tools to help you discover the you that you were meant to be.
Patricia L. Gadsden is the founder and President of Life Esteem, a personal and professional enrichment training/consulting firm and Founder of the Life Esteem Holistic Health Center. She is an entrepreneur and respected workshop and seminar leader who works with businesses, state agencies, colleges and schools, educations and human service organizations. Mrs. Gadsden has compiled materials that will assist you with finding your life purpose.
About the Author and Community Leader
Patricia L. Gadsden is the founder and President of Life Esteem, a personal and professional enrichment training/consulting firm and Women-Connect, a quarterly magazine which focuses on connecting women of all cultures, backgrounds, ages and experiences. She is an entrepreneur and respected workshop and seminar leader who works with businesses, state agencies, colleges and schools, educational and human service organizations. Mrs. Gadsden has made numerous presentations and speeches at conferences and conventions.
Mrs. Gadsden was named one of the top 50 Pennsylvania Women in Business for 2006, by the Central Penn Journal. She co-hosts (with husband Nathaniel Gadsden) a weekly television program called Life Esteem focusing on community issues, airing Sunday mornings at 6:00 am on the CBS affiliate WHP-TV 21. She also just launched in May 2008 a quarterly women’s magazine called, Women-Connect with a focus on highlighting women from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
She has contracted with the University of Pittsburgh’s PA Child Welfare Training Program since 1993 to provide diversity and other trainings for supervisors and new social workers in children and youth agencies and other providers of services to these agencies. Mrs. Gadsden co-wrote two diversity curriculums and train the trainer outlines. The first curriculum is a one-day training entitled, “Valuing Diversity and the second curriculum is, “Managing Diversity”. She also trained auditors and other support staff for the Auditor General office staff a curriculum she wrote entitled, “Diversity: A Vision for Understanding.” She recently contracted with the Workforce Investment Board to conduct diversity trainings for health care professionals in hospitals and nursing home settings.
Mrs. Gadsden was a master trainer for the Girl Scouts of the USA where she received her Instructor of Master Trainer’s Certification. She also serves as a National Operational Volunteer for GSUSA where she travels to girl scout councils across the country to conduct council performance assessments and diversity/pluralism trainings.
Mrs. Gadsden is married to Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Gadsden, pastor of Imani African Christian Church. She co-hosts with her husband a weekly public affairs TV talk/show program called Life Esteem, on the CBS Harrisburg affiliate television station, WHP-TV 21
Purchase Purposeful Living Journey by Patricia L Gadsden
RestoreHER 7 Steps to Healing Enlightenment, and Renewal by Cheryl Lacey Donovan
RestoreHER 7 Steps to Healing Enlightenment, and Renewal by Cheryl Lacey Donovan
We spend our days rushing from one task to another at work and home only to drop into our beds at midnight , completely exhausted. Our society has changed a great deal since our parents were in their prime.
Today we are addicted to speed, see busyness as a status symbol, take care of not only our children, but also our aging parents, and work as many hours as possible to keep ahead of the Jones’. It’s no wonder most of us ignore ourselves and our own needs. It seems like there is simply not the time to do more than grab food on the go and snag a few hours of sleep before starting it all again.
Read excerpts from the book and order your copy, go here: http://bit.ly/RESTORECLD
About the Author
Cheryl Lacey Donovan lives an authentic life as a multi-talented preacher, teacher, mentor, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and author. She is a woman of integrity with a keen level of wisdom and humor that is nothing short of refreshing.
An award-winning bestselling author Cheryl has influenced the lives of thousands in the U.S. and abroad through her powerful life-changing messages. Desiring to see the saints efficiently armed with the knowledge of God, Cheryl’s passion is assisting those in the kingdom, especially women, in discovering their authentic purpose and destiny.
After more than 20 years of educating and advising allied health care professionals, Cheryl followed her passion for bringing out the best in other people by choosing to be more involved in the vision and direction their lives were taking.
This culminated in the launch of Cheryl Lacey Donovan LLC, a coaching and mentoring program which is one facet of her multi-level group of projects which includes Worth More than Rubies Ministries, Cheryl Lacey Donovan Ministries, Worth More than Rubies Productions, and Imni Publishing Unlimited.
Cheryl presents a powerful message with a conversational style that’s just like sitting around chatting with one of your sisters – one who is filled with pearls of wisdom and whose heart is filled with giving. Some of us long for that kind of sister or friend who will just sit you down, tell you the truth about life, share her experiences, and then give you access to a greater more meaningful purpose in life.
You will want to sip a warm cup of your favorite drink, bring a note pad and enjoy a candid and educational presentation with Cheryl Lacey Donovan.
Read more here: https://www.cherylspeaks.org
Self-Love in Action: Practical Ways to Bring Self-Compassion Into Work, Relationships & Everyday Life by Zo Crook
A practical approach to self-love with evidence-based therapy skills to trust your inner voice, make confident decisions, and live with greater personal empowerment in your relationships, career, and everyday life.
Many studies show that self-love is central to good mental health. Self-Love in Action helps you cultivate compassion, accountability, and self-respect in all areas of your life. In this practical, everyday guide, self-love becomes a verb–a moving declaration towards personal empowerment. This psychology-driven book offers proactive strategies to redirect you back to your authentic self by learning to listen to the voice within. Guided by a therapist, you’ll confront the past, examine the present, and prepare for the future by setting boundaries, taking accountability, and practicing the ultimate act of self-love.
Boost confidence with small rituals that shift the focus from “them” to “me”–reminding you that true love flows from the inside out.
Implement “Time to Practice” exercises to pause, set boundaries, say no, and invest in yourself.
Take self-love quizzes to reflect on the ways current habits might impede self-love action.
Explore real examples of clients who have overcome common hardships through their commitment to self-love.
Shine Bright: Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
American pop music is arguably this country’s greatest cultural contribution to the world, and its singular voice and virtuosity were created by a shining thread of Black women geniuses stretching back to the country’s founding. This is their surprising, heartbreaking, soaring story—from “one of the generation’s greatest, most insightful, most nuanced writers in pop culture” (Shea Serrano)
“Sparkling . . . the overdue singing of a Black girl’s song, with perfect pitch . . . delicious to read.”—Oprah Daily
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly
A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith’s intimate history of Black women’s music as the foundational story of American pop.
Smith has been writing this history for more than five years. But as a music fan, and then as an essayist, editor (Vibe, Billboard), and podcast host (Black Girl Songbook), she has been living this history since she was a latchkey kid listening to “Midnight Train to Georgia” on the family stereo.
Smith’s detailed narrative begins with Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who sang her poems, and continues through the stories of Mahalia Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Mariah Carey, as well as the under-considered careers of Marilyn McCoo, Deniece Williams, and Jody Watley.
Shine Bright is an overdue paean to musical masters whose true stories and genius have been hidden in plain sight—and the book Danyel Smith was born to write.
Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C. Ford
“This is a book people will be talking about forever.” ―Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed
“Ford’s wrenchingly brilliant memoir is truly a classic in the making. The writing is so richly observed and so suffused with love and yearning that I kept forgetting to breathe while reading it.” ―John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author
One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the looming absence of her incarcerated father.
Through poverty, adolescence, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley C. Ford wishes she could turn to her father for hope and encouragement. There are just a few problems: he’s in prison, and she doesn’t know what he did to end up there. She doesn’t know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates. When the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Still reeling from the rape, which she keeps secret from her family, Ashley desperately searches for meaning in the chaos. Then, her grandmother reveals the truth about her father’s incarceration . . . and Ashley’s entire world is turned upside down.
Somebody’s Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl in Indiana with a family fragmented by incarceration, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she embarks on a powerful journey to find the threads between who she is and what she was born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them.
Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Tunde Oyeneyin
From Tunde Oyeneyin, the massively popular Peloton instructor, fitness star, and founder of SPEAK, comes an empowering, inspiring book that shows how she transformed grief, setbacks, and flaws into growth, self-confidence, and triumph—for fans of Shonda Rhimes, Brene Brown, and Glennon Doyle.
On any given day, thousands of devoted people clip into their bikes and have their lives changed by Tunde Oyeneyin. From her platform in a Peloton studio, she encourages riders with her trademark blend of positivity, empathy, and motivational “Tunde-isms,” to push themselves to their limits both on and off the bike.
Now, fans and readers everywhere can learn about her personal journey, and discover how they too can “live a life of purpose, on purpose” with Speak, a memoir-manifesto-guide to life inspired by her immensely popular Instagram Live series of the same name.
Taking us through each step of the SPEAK acronym—Surrender, Power, Empathy, Authenticity, and Knowledge—Oyeneyin shares the lessons she has learned about loss, love, body image, and how she has successfully created an intentional, joyful life for herself, offering an accessible blueprint for anyone looking to make a positive change in their lives.
STATIONS: Changing Your Life – Changing Your Career by Lynda Mubarak
Is your child a first generation college student? Are you a first generation college student? If you are a teen parent, school counselor, Student Affairs Coordinator, Upward Bound student, high school student, parents of elementary students, teens, young adults, or a teen worker, STATIONS is the quick resource guide that offers suggestions or recommendations to teens, parents and professionals as you engage in life and the workplace of the 21st century.
STATIONS examines childhood academic and social skills, and addresses the challenging task of teaching children to be healthy and financially sound while preparing them to thrive and survive in a global workforce driven by cutting edge technology and ongoing competition.
STATIONS is concise, amusing, informative and frank in its discussion of life’s everyday circumstances including social media and proactive workplace practices that affect all of us from childhood through adulthood.
Stripped For Greater: Walk By Faith by Michele Nicole
I had $0.06 in my bank account and $5 in coins in my purse. As I sat in the car, the reality of this season of my life just hit me……homeless.
I am homeless.
I looked at myself in the mirror and the conversation in my mind began. “It’s all your fault. You did this to me. You. YOU failed us. You are 46 years old and you have nothing. You are stuck. You are yet again in “starting over” mode. You are not all here, you are functioning broken.
How do you go from having a job with benefits, having your own business as a travel agent, having almost paid off all your debt and making plans for the next season of your life, to sitting in the front seat of a car with $0.06 in the bank and $5 in your purse, your items in a borrowed storage unit, your clothes in a travel garment bag, a job paying $8.50 per hour working 15-25 hours per week and you have two college degrees?
How the hell did this happen to us Michele….please tell me….I would like to know”.
Read an excerpt at Black Pearls Magazine
AMAZON BOOK REVIEW
Stripped for Greater is a non-fiction thematic autobiography that chronicles the tough experiences of Michele Nicole in her homeless experience on the streets of Atlanta, GA. Michele depicts her experience as a religious rite of passage that was designed to elevate her on a higher spiritual level. Michele brings a personal, introspective lens on the challenging and sometimes mundane day to day activities of living out her car, bathing in public restrooms and having breakfast at various continental servings at local hotels. In her time surviving as a homeless woman, Michele journeys through various self-revelatory lessons that she would learn about herself and her relationship with God.
The theme that Michele announces through various points of her journey is that being homeless was God stripping her of her dependence on everything so that He could teach her how to depend on him. In additional, the greater represents the place that God would take her into after her time being homeless. Although the theme is present in the story, I’d like to see the story lead to “greater works” as depicted by scripture for the Christian walk. Though we share with Christ in his sufferings, we also shall reign with Him as well, according to Christian doctrine. I think Stripped for Greater would deliver a much stronger purpose if the “Greater” was tied to a much more powerful destination. Perhaps to achieve this, more recounts of Michele’s life after being homeless should be added to the story.
Michele delivers Stripped for Greater in a causal and sometimes comedic voice that allows the reader to understand her persona. You feel as if the story is being told to you over a casual lunch with a friend. The story does well with offering descriptive wording to assist with the experiences Michele faced from day to day while being homeless.
Purchase Stripped For Greater: Walk By Faith by Michele Nicole
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130360365?ean=9780578413082
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stripped-Greater-Faith-Michele-Nicole/dp/0578413086
Non-fiction > Transformation Self-Help > Christian Growth > Biography & Autobiography > Personal Memoir
Survival Math by Mitchell S. Jackson
Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson
An electrifying, dazzlingly written reckoning and an essential addition to the national conversation about race and class, Survival Math takes its name from the calculations award-winning author Mitchell S. Jackson made to survive the Portland, Oregon of his youth.
This dynamic book explores gangs and guns, near-death experiences, sex work, masculinity, composite fathers, the concept of “hustle,” and the destructive power of addiction—all framed within the story of Jackson, his family, and his community. Lauded for its breathtaking pace, its tender portrayals, its stark candor, and its luminous style, Survival Math reveals on every page the searching intellect and originality of its author.
The primary narrative, focused on understanding the antecedents of Jackson’s family’s experience, is complemented by poems composed from historical American documents as well as survivor files, which feature photographs and riveting short narratives of several of Jackson’s male relatives.
The sum of Survival Math’s parts is a highly original whole, one that reflects on the exigencies—over generations—that have shaped the lives of so many disenfranchised Americans. As essential as it is beautiful, as real as it is artful, Mitchell S. Jackson’s nonfiction debut is a singular achievement, not to be missed.
Swirl Girl: Coming of Race in the USA by TaRessa Stovall
SWIRL GIRL: Coming of Race in the USA reveals how a hard-headed Mixed-race “Black Power Flower Child” battles society—and sometimes her closest loved ones—to forge her identity on her own terms.
As the USA undergoes its own racial growing pains, from the 1968 riots after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, to the historic 2008 election of the nation’s first Biracially Black president, TaRessa Stovall challenges popular stereotypes and fights nonstop pressures to contort, disguise, or deny her uncomfortable truths.
Early Praise for Swirl Girl: Coming of Race in the USA by TaRessa Stovall
Zjien Relician says:
TaRessa Stovall, thank you for baring your soul, telling your story…and concentrically, the story of so many others…of us. You grabbed our hands and hearts, and with unwavering and unabashed conviction, traversed the turbulent and often unrelenting waters of racial identity, racism, discrimination, self actualization, externalized self loath of others, forgiveness, and transparent self reflection. It was an emotional roller coaster; but it was so worth it! EVERYONE: If you have not read this book as of yet, I strongly suggest you click the link, and get you some. You will not regret it!
Janice Liddell says:
TaRessa Stovall’s SWIRL GIRL: Coming of Race in the USA is a juicy must-read memoir that hits all the touch points of growing up as a mixed-race person in America, especially a mixed-race woman. This work should actually be required reading for interracial parents or prospective parents. It is both a preparatory and cautionary tale that seeks to navigate the potential difficulties and obstacles that unsuspecting parents can’t even envision for the future of their biracial offspring.
While Stovall recognizes that no story will be identical to hers, she nevertheless offers an unbridled examination and expose’ of complexities related to racial and cultural identities; hence, the work can serve as an understanding companion to biracial youth seeking to find their way through the maze of prejudice, biases, confusion and/or plain misunderstanding. But the memoir is also relevant for us “single-race” folks who likely never had a clue what it was REALLY like to be a ”mulatto”, a “half-breed”, a “mongrel”, a “mutt” in such a hyper-bigoted environment as the US of A. Whether we are on the white or the black side of the racial divide, we leave the book with a more sympathetic understanding of what it’s like to straddle that racial fence in a society that is almost as racially polarized in the 21st century as it was in the 19th.
Stovall’s language is lyrical and tight with crisp images of people, places and things that have affected her own development as a politically conscious AND Afrocentric biracial woman. While being laser-specific to the realities of the mixed-race population, Stovall’s messages throughout the book are also applicable to all of us who are forging stronger identity politics in our respective communities, be they racial, ageist, cultural, gender or whatever. This is likely a personal confrontation with these issues that is long over-due.
Howard Weisberg says:
Where do I begin!? I started to do my normal speed-read, but stopped after page 101 an hour later. I had to go back and read every word. Page 101 spoke to me as a white person. It should speak to everyone, no matter their color. Now, after reading the whole 202 pages, one word at a time, I have so much praise for this book and its author, that I cannot write it all here. It would take another book to comment on it all!! So, whether it’s Auntie Ozzie (Rosalyn), Kelly (Dad), Auntie Shirley, Big Ernie, Ms. Gonzalez, Greg, et.al., I was mesmerized! I lived in and out of that world. Of course, I’m TaRessa’s white cousin, but that doesn’t mean I only felt emotions because we’re related. I could not miss the message to all of humanity, and the help this book could bring to people of all skin tones! To summarize, TaRessa nailed it!
S.M. Delacroix says:
One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that Ms. Stovall wove information about the census into almost every chapter. But I am getting ahead of myself. First of all, I have to stop calling the book Swirl Girl. The proper name of the book is Swirl Girl: Coming of Race in the USA. This is important because the book is about more than people being “down with the swirl” or being of mixed parentage/heritage.
Ms. Stovall expertly discusses the social, political and sometime economic ramifications of being Black and Jewish (or “Blewish”) as a child, a teenager, and as an adult. She talks about what happens to her as she attempts (and ultimately succeeds) to define herself, for herself.
The information about the U.S. Census intrigued me because I am fascinated by how people’s identity (both outwardly defined and self-described) are altered by societal events. I anticipated seeing how the census changed over time and how those changes connected to the author’s experiences.
I was impressed by the honestly and bluntness of her writing. I appreciated the fact that she called the U.S. and all of us folks (Black, white, Latinx and otherwise) on our MESS tied to being members of the identity police.
The short of it is that I love the book and I will use it in my sociology courses when possible. I will recommend it everyone, but especially to people who have children and grandchildren who are mixed, because whether Ms. Stovall knows it or not, she offers a blueprint for us “outsiders” into the world of the Swirl Girl (and boy) who are Coming of Race in the USA.
Purchase Swirl Girl: Coming of Race in the USA by TaRessa Stovall published by Alchemy Media Publishing Company, is available now at www.taressastovall.com, and on Amazon.
The Author in You: New Writers Searching for a Theme by Dr. Lynda J. Mubarak
You are an aspiring author, but you can’t decide on a topic or theme. Too many story ideas on your plate? Too many choices? You are torn between several subjects and you need assistance deciding what’s best. The Author in You will save time and provide some insight on selecting a theme that works for you. Your story is ready when you are!
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazon Book Review
This is a Great How to Book! I enjoyed reading this book because it has so many tools for an author to get their book off the ground. This book is full of insightful and knowledgeable information that is needed to continue anyone’s writing journey. Thank you, Dr. Lynda, for providing a book that is sure to be helpful to all and any author or new author. Thank you for this book! Very helpful! —Reviewed by Vera Harris
About the Author
Dr. Lynda J. Mubarak is a retired special education teacher, Army veteran, and adult ESL adjunct. She is a graduate of Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, and Nova SE University.
She is the author of seven books and was nominated as “Up and Coming Author” at the 2017 Indie Author Literary Awards for her first book, STATIONS. Carver Park, Maxine’s New Job, and Maxine Listens were certified as Great Reads in 2018-19 by the Reading With Your Kids Program. Maxine’s New Job won the prestigious Henri Award in the children’s category at the 2018 Christian Literary Awards.
Dr. Lynda was selected to be a featured author at the 2019 Telisoma Book Fair sponsored by the African American Museum of Dallas, TX. Dr. Lynda and her Stations for Kids Books have established a lifetime partnership with the Community Food Bank of Fort Worth, TX to assist families in need.
The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom: Build Wealth, Retire Early, and Live the Life of Your Dreams by Paris Woods
Are you tired of spinning your wheels following financial advice that leaves you feeling broker than before? Are you pulling your hair out trying to follow the complicated instructions offered by the gurus? In The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom, Paris Woods takes the guesswork out of wealth-building and presents a plan that anyone can follow.
Paris spent years working in education and wanted to find a way to build wealth without changing careers or taking the traditional real estate or business routes. This book is the result of years of research and practice that helped her find a simpler path. Through real-life stories coupled with clear and actionable advice, you will learn to:
Build generational wealth
Avoid common financial traps
Earn your next degree debt-free
Achieve financial independence and retire early
Design a dream life you can start living today
This book is perfect for Black women of any age, including young professionals just starting to set financial goals and mid-career women who are tired of following the same old rules and are ready to live life on their own terms. If freedom is your goal, then this is the book for you.
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
This “powerful and disturbing history” exposes how American governments deliberately imposed racial segregation on metropolitan areas nationwide (New York Times Book Review).
Widely heralded as a “masterful” (Washington Post) and “essential” (Slate) history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law offers “the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation” (William Julius Wilson).
Exploding the myth of de facto segregation arising from private prejudice or the unintended consequences of economic forces, Rothstein describes how the American government systematically imposed residential segregation: with undisguised racial zoning; public housing that purposefully segregated previously mixed communities; subsidies for builders to create whites-only suburbs; tax exemptions for institutions that enforced segregation; and support for violent resistance to African Americans in white neighborhoods.
A groundbreaking, “virtually indispensable” study that has already transformed our understanding of twentieth-century urban history (Chicago Daily Observer), The Color of Law forces us to face the obligation to remedy our unconstitutional past.
The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world.
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?
Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles—the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness.
“When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Michelle Obama. A rewarding blend of powerful stories and profound advice that will ignite conversation, The Light We Carry inspires readers to examine their own lives, identify their sources of gladness, and connect meaningfully in a turbulent world.
The Mountain We Climb by Wayne Swan
This Book is the Road Map to the Kind of Life You Deserve
Most people want to accomplish great things—improve their own lives and make the world better in some way. You might be thinking, But why does it have to be so hard?
Life can seem like a constant battle—helping a loved one who just won’t listen, paying the light bill when there’s not enough money to go around, finding happiness when everyone around you says it’s impossible.
Yet some people make “impossible” things happen: someone becomes a millionaire; somebody breaks a world record; someone else reaches the summit of a mountain; one person inspires millions while many struggle to even influence a single person.
What Draws Out the Greatness We Have Inside?
Contrary to popular belief, we all have the potential to do great things, to create the kind of life and happiness we desire. If you felt even the slightest doubt as you read that, you need to read this book!
You don’t have to be told that there is a lot of negativity and opposition in life; if not from the people and things around us, then from our own insecurities from within.
Seeing the accomplishments of others gives us hope . . .it inspires and motivates us. We are able to see that “doing the impossible” is in fact possible. But this isn’t enough. We need to know how!
The Secret
There is one thing that every person who achieves something great has, and it is how to tap into the mother lode of power and unstoppable greatness that lies mostly dormant within us all! The answer is having a GUIDE.
Many things seem impossible to us; especially when trying to solve them with no real guidance, no know-how to doing it right. The smart way to proceed is by learning from those who can show you the road map. The Mountain We Climb is your secret road map to the life you deserve.
“I can only compare the experience of reading The Mountain We Climb to being guided through life’s challenges by a wise mentor, a loving father, and a caring best friend. Dr. Swan has achieved that rare feat of successfully combining inspirational and practical guidance with a moving personal story.” — Liana Hall, Esq., Writer and Mental Health Activist
View an excerpt from The Mountain We Climb on Amazon – http://a.co/gFwA4Or
The Mountain We Climb by Wayne Swan tour page: https://www.smore.com/yr1pt
About the Author
Dr. Wayne Swan is a Motivational Speaker, Mentor, Life Coach, Entrepreneur & Certified Divorce Coach. He regularly speaks to and works with clients in Bermuda as well as internationally in places such as: Africa, Europe, UK and the USA.
Wayne has accomplished the feat of reaching the summit of the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. Returning to the base of the mountain a different man, he shares his revelations and learnings for overcoming “impossible” odds in life, as they apply to mountain climbing or life’s daily struggles.
Visit his website today: http://drwayneswan.com
The Other Side of Cancer by Annette Guardino
The Other Side of Cancer: Living Life with My Dying Sister by Annette Guardino
Media coverage and blog tour: https://www.smore.com/9k5wx
The Other Side of Cancer: Living Life with My Dying Sister is a passionate story of two sisters and their extraordinary bond and friendship reignited in the face of cancer.
Theresa conquered many hurdles in her lifetime, with victorious highs and shattering lows, but at fifty-four years old, she took on the biggest challenge of her life: advanced stage pancreatic cancer. Like most families, there are those times when moments in life tend to strain or burden relationships. Theresa chose humor in the face of death. Confronting her fate with grace, she taught everyone the true meaning of living life without regret. To those who loved her, she gave an amazing gift—showing them how to move past the sadness and truly enjoy the precious time she had left.
Annette, her baby sister, didn’t realize her strength until she held her sister’s life in her hands. As a writer, she did the one thing she thought would have the most impact. She picked up a notebook and chronicled the journey with Theresa, revealing the strength and inspiration of an amazing woman.
The two siblings shared a room as kids, and in the end, it was the same. A week or so before Theresa died, she told Annette, “This has been the best year of my life.” Most people would have thought she was crazy, but her little sister knew exactly what she meant.
About the Author
Annette Guardino is a literary journalist. Born Annette Marie Guardino to her mother who is from Belgium and father who is Sicilian, she is a native Californian and the youngest of six children. Being quite creative, Annette’s strong desire to write led her to her first book, a psychological drama, followed by two television comedy scripts. She has had other entrepreneurial ventures, including a logo sportswear clothing line.
Read more and order your copy: http://annetteleeds.com/books
Available in hardcover and eBook on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
The PhD Game: Confessions of a Black Academic
The PhD Game: Confessions of a Black Academic, is a collection of essays detailing the doctoral journeys of 15 African American doctoral degree holders. Although the National Center for Education Statistics named African American women the most educated group in the United States, the quest for doctoral and other advanced degrees is not easy, and is often not completed.
Antoinette Franklin, the book’s managing editor, explained that she started this project to serve as a source of inspiration to future doctoral holders to complete their advanced education.
“The book is a collection of stories of glory, racism, sexism, and happiness,” she said. “It shares their experiences and how they overcame those misfortunes and achieved the pinnacle of education attainment. The book also discusses the issues facing America’s colleges and universities concerning diversity in with the faculty and administration.”
Each contributor to The PhD Game is a current business professional with a background in military, public relations, education, medicine, or law with affiliations with the San Antonio Talented Tenth of San Antonio, Gamma Delta Phi National Honor Society, Catholic Charities, and various fraternities and sororities.
In addition, they have as nationally and internationally, appearing in such publications as the San Antonio Observer, Entrepreneur Magazine, Black Enterprise, and Women of Distinction Magazine.
The authors are as follows:
• Antoinette Franklin, managing Editor of the Ph.D Game, instructor, doctoral student.
• Dr. Loren Alves, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics at East Carolina University School Of Dental Medicine
• Dr. Willie J. Black, Educator and Administrator, Judson Independent School District
• Dr. Sharon Michael Chadwell, Higher Education Professional, Expert in Black Males in Gifted and Talented Programs
• Dr. Nicolas Cormier, Administrator and Educator (Retired)
• Dr. Jacqueline Dansby, Executive Director and Professor, St. Mary’s University
• Dr. Michael J. Laney, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Savannah State University
• Dr. Rhonda M. Lawson, Public Affairs Specialist, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Founder, Meet the World Image Solutions, LLC
• Dr. LaJoyce Lawton, Principal Consultant, Lawton International
• Dr. D. Anthony Miles, Marketing Expert and Statistician, Miles Development Industries Corporation®
• Dr. Doshie Piper, Professor and Researcher, University of the Incarnate Word
• Dr. Lawrence Scott, Professor and Researcher, Texas A&M University-San Antonio
• Dr. Caroline Sinkfield, Professor and Researcher
• Dr. Sharon Small, CEO/Early Head Start Director, Parent Child Incorporated (PCI)
• Dr. Linn R. Waiters, Principal and Founder, Waiters Educational Vision, LLC
• Dr. Chanel Young, Clinical Psychologist, Fort Hood Army Base & Private Practice
“Each author has a unique story to share about the struggles we face in academia as African Americans,” Franklin said. “It is our goal to inspire our young people to greatness!”
The PhD Game: Confessions of a Black Academic will be published by San Antonio publishing house Prosperity Publications, http://www.prosperitypublications.com and will be available in paperback and e-Book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books A Million.
The Pride of an African Migrant by Massocki Ma Massocki
The Pride of an African Migrant: In Remembrance of Jimmy Mubenga, a Martyr of Globalisation, Murdered by the UK Border Regime on a British Airways Flight to Angola by Massocki Ma Massocki
Why was this book written and what is the mission behind this project?
The Pride of an African Migrant outlines barbaric acts of torture to which African asylum seekers are being subjected to in the United Kingdom.
The book was written in remembrance of Jimmy Mubenga, an African asylum seeker who was tortured and killed by the UK border regime at London Heathrow Airport on a British Airways flight to Angola on October 12, 2010, after resisting his deportation.
Having peacefully protested against the killing of Mubenga, a fellow asylum seeker, Massocki Ma Massocki, the author, was arrested and detained naked in a cold cell. After some time, even the place he was staying at was set on fire, ready to kill him.
Despite this, each year, the terrifying Mediterranean Sea and the dreadful Sahara desert claim the lives of at least 5,000 African migrants en route to Europe. And those who have conquered the sea and the desert still have to survive, in the land of Europe, the barbarism and inhumanity of immigration officers.
The Pride of an African Migrant aims to fight xenophobia and promote harmonious coexistence between all living beings, in particular, between migrants and Europeans, and heighten people’s compassion and wisdom, which are imperative for world peace. The book’s goal is also to make Africans aspiring to migrate to the European Union or the US be more informed of the issues related to their plans so that they can be better prepared.
The Pride of an African Migrant is a frank expository conversation for today and of all time. It is a book that every immigration player should read—from potential migrants to diplomatic staff, immigration officials, foreign policy advisors… every person with a migrant family member or neighbour.
PUBLISHER’S REVIEW
‘Where is the human in migration? In an age of immigration as political posturing and propaganda, Massocki presents a collage of dreams, journeys, tears, wills… even death. This book is an intimate retelling of lives and stories that strips migrants of convenient agenda-driven labels, baring them stark to the reader. With blood running in their veins, vulnerable to fear, driven by ambition—the emotive human is at the centre of Massocki’s latest work.
The Pride of an African Migrant is a frank expository conversation for today and of all time. It is a book that every immigration player should read—from potential migrants to diplomatic staff, immigration officials, foreign policy advisors… every person with a migrant family member or neighbour.’ —Pierced Rock Press
WHERE TO PURCHASE BOOKS
The Pride of an African Migrant: In Remembrance of Jimmy Mubenga, a Martyr of Globalisation, Murdered by the UK Border Regime on a British Airways Flight to Angola by Massocki Ma Massocki will be published via Ingramspark and will be available and will be available at Ingramspark, Amazon, Kobo, Applebooks, etc…
Purchase books from the Pierced Rock Press publisher’s website: www.piercedrockpress.com
The Pride of an African Migrant: In Remembrance of Jimmy Mubenga, a Martyr of Globalisation, Murdered by the UK Border Regime on a British Airways Flight to Angola by Massocki Ma Massocki is available on Amazon:
Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Pride-African-Migrant-Remembrance-Globalisation/dp/995646502X
Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.com/Pride-African-Migrant-Remembrance-Globalisation/dp/9956465011
https://www.amazon.com/Pride-African-Migrant-Remembrance-Globalisation/dp/9956465011/
The Woman God Created You to Be: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally by Kimberla Lawson Roby
ARE YOU THE REAL WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE?
HAVE YOU WANTED TO BECOME HER—SPIRITUALLY, PERSONALLY, and PROFESSIONALLY?
Kimberla Lawson Roby admits that for years, she wasn’t being the real woman God created her to be. Yes, she has always loved God and tried her best to honor Him, but what she eventually discovered was that building and maintaining her own personal relationship with God—and making Him her top priority—was the key to finding joy in all areas of her life.
Now, in The Woman God Created You to Be, Kimberla has bravely—and transparently—written about her flaws, fears, and failures, as well as her faith, courage, and successes.
From experiencing divorce to marrying her soulmate of twenty-nine years…from hopelessly searching for the perfect job to becoming a New York Times bestselling author…from suffering in silence with anxiety to concentrating on self-care…from struggling with the loss of her mom to finding strength, comfort, peace. and understanding—Kimberla takes you on a journey that will help you do the following:
– Become the Best Spiritual You (Seven Days Per Week)
– Become the Best Personal You (Mentally, Emotionally, and Physically)
– Become the Best Professional You (Without Jeopardizing Your Faith)
Kimberla reminds us that when we trust and depend on God—heart, mind, and soul—He will empower us to do more than we ever thought imaginable. He will help us see that we are more than enough, and that He has already given us everything we need to become the women He created us to be—spiritually, personally, professionally…and beyond.
Kimberla’s books have frequented numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and Publishers Weekly magazines, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and many others.
Purchase books from Amazon today:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0848M48TY
Follow her online Seducing the Pen tour: https://www.smore.com/zhqzd
Then They Came for Mine by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
Then They Came for Mine: Healing from the Trauma of Racial Violence by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
Black Americans’ resilience during centuries of racially-motivated violence is beyond remarkable. But continuing to endure this harm allows for generations of trauma to fester and grow. Healing has to be the priority going forward.
For decades, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts clung to her upbringing in the church, believing that racial reconciliation would come through faith and discipline, being respectable, and doing what’s right. But when her cousin became the victim of a white supremacist’s hateful rampage, her body and soul said, “no more.”
The trauma of America’s racial history, wreaking havoc on not only Black and Brown folk but white people too, in its own way, will not be alleviated without the will to face it head-on. We must name the dehumanization that plagues us, practice truth-telling and self-care, and make space for our vulnerability–to do the hard work of healing ourselves and our communities.
This book is written with that healing in mind. It unpacks how American systems and institutions enable the kind of violence we’ve seen connected to white supremacy and nationalism. It examines the way media has created a desensitization to violence against Black bodies.
It outlines what it looks like for a person who claims to follow Jesus to be anti-racist. But more than anything, it offers a blueprint for healing and reconciliation that includes the necessity of white people untangling from an ancestral mandate of colonization and false notions of supremacy, and Black and Brown people reckoning with the impact of trauma and feeling free to grieve in whatever way grief shows up.
Undefeated Woman by Desange Kuenihira
Undefeated Woman by Desange Kuenihira (Memoirs of Women)
Sometimes, it takes a journey to find your voice.
As a young girl, Desange Kuenihira was told repeatedly that she was meaningless. An arranged marriage and motherhood before twenty—guaranteeing a life in poverty—were all she was told to expect. But Desange knew she had more inside her, and that education was the key to unlocking her potential.
In Undefeated Woman, Desange Kuenihira takes us on the challenging journey of her childhood. She recalls fleeing with her siblings from the civil war raging in Congo and the daily struggle of life in a refugee camp in Uganda, where she suffered many forms of abuse. She relates her journey to America, the culture clash of living with American foster families, and her quest for her education and the ability to control her own life. Now a college graduate and determined to pay forward the kindness of those that helped her through, Desange has launched the nonprofit UnDEfeated to empower women and girls in Uganda.
Desange’s inspirational story shows us all how we can overcome any odds through education, determined perseverance, and the kindness of caring people.
Uphill: A Memoir by Jemele Hill
One of Oprah Daily’s Best Fall Nonfiction Books of 2022
An empowering, unabashedly bold memoir by the Atlantic journalist and former ESPN SportsCenter coanchor about overcoming a legacy of pain and forging a new path, no matter how uphill life’s battles might be.
Jemele Hill’s world came crashing down when she called President Trump a “white supremacist”; the White House wanted her fired from ESPN, and she was deluged with death threats. But Hill had faced tougher adversaries growing up in Detroit than a tweeting president. Beneath the exterior of one of the most recognizable journalists in America was a need―a calling―to break her family’s cycle of intergenerational trauma.
Born in the middle of a lively routine Friday night Monopoly game to a teen mother and a heroin-addicted father, Hill constantly adjusted to the harsh realities of not only her own childhood but the inherited generational pain of her mother and grandmother. Her escape was writing.
Hill’s mother was less than impressed with the brassy and bold free expression of her diary, but Hill never stopped discovering and amplifying her voice. Through hard work and a constant willingness to learn, Hill rose from newspaper reporter to columnist to new heights as the coanchor for ESPN’s revered SportsCenter. Soon, she earned respect and support for her fearless opinions and unshakable confidence, as well as a reputation as a trusted journalist who speaks her mind with truth and conviction.
In Jemele Hill’s journey Uphill, she shares the whole story of her work, the women of her family, and her complicated relationship with God in an unapologetic, character-rich, and eloquent memoir.
Welcome to My Breakdown A Memoir By Benilde Little
In her “eminently readable memoir about turning darkness back into light” (People), the nationally bestselling author of Good Hair candidly shares her journey from having it all to plunging into a deep depression after her beloved mother’s death—and finally climbing back out.
Benilde Little’s life appeared perfect. A bestselling novelist with two beautiful children, a handsome husband, a gorgeous home, and good friends, she had every reason to feel on top of the world. She was mindful of the sacrifices that enabled her to prosper and never took the good life for granted. But when illness and aging overtook her parents, and other challenges suddenly loomed, she went into a tailspin of clinical depression.
Little chronicles her descent into a cavern so dark and impenetrable that she didn’t know if she’d ever recover. But, as she learns, the only road out of depression is through it. She reflects back on her protected upbringing in Newark, New Jersey; celebrates her remarkable mother; and tracks her youth from an early relationship with the Nation of Islam, to the city life of a young professional, to the domesticity of the suburbs. After finding herself sandwiched between the twin demands of elder care and childcare, she explores how, with therapy and introspection, she regained her voice and mapped a way out of her depression.
Writing in the courageous tradition of great female storytellers such as Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, and Pearl Cleage, Little doesn’t hold back as she shares insights, inspiration, and intimate details of her life with her trademark candor and fearlessness. Powerful, relatable, and ultimately redemptive, Welcome to My Breakdown is a remarkable memoir about the strength within us all to rise from despair and to feel hope and joy again.
Find all of Benilde Little’s books: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Benilde-Little/9450
Benilde Little is the bestselling author of the novels Good Hair(selected as one of the ten best books of 1996 by the Los Angeles Times), The Itch, Acting Out, and Who Does She Think She Is?
A former reporter for People and senior editor at Essence, she lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and son. Her daughter is away at college.
Follower her on Twitter and Instagram @BenildeLittle and read her blog, Welcome to My Breakdown, at BenildeLittle.Wordpress.com.
Why Am I Like This by Kobe Campbell
Why Am I Like This?: How to Break Cycles, Heal from Trauma, and Restore Your Faith by Kobe Campbell
Why does our past pain have a way of terrorizing us and keeping us in fear, while baiting us with the lie that we will never experience healing, freedom, or love?
Though many of us can point to patterns of brokenness in our lives, we don’t know why they’re there. No matter how hard we work, we can’t seem to outrun the very things that break our hearts. That’s because our everyday setbacks are rooted in our unaddressed wounds.
Guided by seminary-trained licensed trauma therapist Kobe Campbell, Why Am I Like This? will help you develop courage as you dare to turn your heart toward your brokenness, uncover uncomfortable truths, and learn how to invite God into your past and present pain as you move from the terror of trauma into the tender embrace of the Father.
In the book Why Am I Like This?, you will:
gain an understanding of what trauma and healing really are,
explore the roots of your dysfunctional patterns,
learn how your trauma shows up in your everyday life, and
find trauma-informed, faith-based coping mechanisms to heal your mind and deepen your intimacy with God.
You already know that God is good. Here, you’ll discover that He’s good to you. You already know that God responds to the cry of His children. Here, you’ll see just how he responds to your cries of desperation, hopelessness, and despair. Healing won’t look like what you thought it will be, but it will come, and it will be beautiful.