MY PEN SAVED ME.

Today’s post is being made the day after my first book was published and the day that my book launch for “The Chronicles of a Woman:  The Truth-teller” will be held.  As I sit and reflect, heart racing and nail-biting, I remember the days when I felt that all I had was my pen. 

In the days of my youth, I didn’t quite understand how my need for silence could exist with my burning passion for speaking the truth and standing up for what is right.  One minute I was as quiet as a lamb, and the next minute I was using my voice to advocate for some kind of justice in my little corner… either justice for myself or for someone else.  The conundrum I faced (and continue to face) is that neither I nor others could appropriately place or reconcile that my desire for silence (and being alone) and my desire and ability to use my voice could be the whole of me.   As a child/teen, this frustrated me, because I didn’t know how to explain it – not even to myself:  I have something to say, but I don’t want to speak unless I MUST and when I did, I would say it exactly as I saw it, often to my detriment.    How do you reconcile the two?  Most couldn’t. 

But that conundrum didn’t faze me – not fundamentally; I remained in that dichotomy and on the days when things were unbearable – when childhood dreams were interrupted – I reached for my pen.  I wrote about everything, and I read about everything.  I felt life and observed my surroundings and scribbled matching words that hid in plain sight; those scribbling became my release, my escape, my joy, my pain – my poetry.  I realized soon that whatever the story, whatever the feeling, whatever the moment, I could jam pack everything into a few stanzas that told the entire story but which only few were able to see.  I liked that, so I continued to do that.  I told the entire story in one poem.  I REALLY loved that idea.  Aside from that, I realized that my writing was my healing, so I continued.  Then I realized later that my poetry, etc. was someone else’ healing, so I continued to write, but didn’t always share.

Once I discovered the power of the pen, I used it to help myself to navigate those moments of utter darkness and to celebrate the moments of bliss.  I have no idea where many of those early pieces are today, since I would often write in the back of my school book or on pieces of paper or in a diary. 

Today, as I scroll through the pages of this compilation (the first of more to come), I am nervous as heck.  While the anthology is not all about my experiences, I still feel some amount of vulnerability, because the truth does that!  Aside from that, I am not sure what else I am feeling.  These are pieces that I have had for a while and pieces I have written in the last few years and some in the past months. 

The book, as it is meant to be, has something for everyone.  As the name suggests, it chronicles various topics, including love, relationships, friendships, parenting and anything that falls within the realm of heartbreak, healing and self-recovery.  “The Chronicles of A Woman, The Truth-teller,” is honest, raw, soothing, somewhat controversial by mirroring the woman’s pain and joy.  It doesn’t just stop there.  While the book chronicles the challenges that many women face, there are pieces that highlight, and in some instances, celebrate the male’s presence (positive and otherwise) in relationship with himself and with others

I am hoping that as much as my pen saved me that these pieces will shed light on some very important issues and help someone to navigate their life so that they can truly LIVE!

The book is now available for purchase on amazon; follow the link below:

Check out the virtual book launch on zoom. Meeting ID no. 849-1513-3627 on March 14, 2021 at 2 p.m. GMT.