14 minute read
Crown Holders Recommended Reading List Summer 2020
Island Mindfulness creates a path for transformation through selfempowerment, 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.
Advertisement
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.
About the Author
Janet Autherine has a heart for storytelling and youth and women’s empowerment. She uses her extraordinary journey from a struggling Jamaican immigrant to a respected attorney, author and administrative law judge to inspire others to embrace their unique journey.
Janet is the author of Growing into Greatness with God: 7 Paths to Greatness for our Sons & Daughters (youth), and Wild Heart, Peaceful Soul (poetry).
After launching her legal career in Washington, D.C., she was eventually drawn back to the sunshine, and she now lives in Florida with her three sons.
Read More:
https://www.janetautherine.com
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Meet LoLo Smith Diversity Professional
LoLo Smith is from St. Louis where she earned a Bachelor's in education and completed 30 hours in a 39-hour M.B.A. program at St. Louis University while teaching at an elementary school.
LoLo relocated to the District of Columbia over 40 years ago. During her career she has held a number of challenging positions at Boeing, Howard University, the U.S. Department of Education and the DC Public Schools.
She has devoted a lot of her time to nonprofit management and has assisted numerous others with establishing tax exempt organizations. She is particularly proud of the fact that she is the co-founder of a nonprofit that has provided after-school and summer enrichment programs to over 1,000 children and youth during the past decade.
Through her nonprofit, she has published ten books for children. Though she places an emphasis on including characters of colors, her books are for everyone. She even has one in Spanish! She has also edited and published books of poems written by youth participating in programs sponsored by her nonprofit.
LoLo has one son who is also an educator and author.
Do The Write Thing of DC (501)(c)(3) tax-exempt not-forprofit organization was established by LoLo Smith and two others on April 5, 2010 that publishes books for, about and by African-Americans. Do The Write Thing also implements academic enrichment programs after school and during the summer.
Visit the website for Do The Write Thing of DC at: http://www.dothewritethingdc.org
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Four Seasons of Love Anthology of Poetry by Patricia A. Saunders
Read an excerpt from Four Seasons of Love on Amazon.com http://a.co/iLyvu9u
Patricia A. Saunders was born and raised in Connecticut before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area nearly 27 years ago. She received her Master’s in Management from the University of Phoenix in 2011.
After the passing of her mother who had Alzheimer’s, Patricia decided if she inherited the disease she wanted her words to be her legacy and that all the words that she kept to herself were to be released.
Patricia's work has been featured on a Coast to Coast Book Tour at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Toronto Word On The Street, Sacramento Black Book Fair, Tucson Book Festival, Miami International Festival of Books and AARP Life@50+ Spring Convention.
Recently she was chosen among 100 authors from around the United States to participate in the Author’s Pavilion at the Congressional Black Caucus Convention in Washington, DC.
Her latest book, Four Seasons of Love, is an anthology of poetry that separates the emotions of love into four chapters that covers the seasons. Both men and women can relate to their first kiss, being smitten, wondering if its real and the heartbreak of loss.
Patricia A. Saunders writes each poem to have the reader visualize, feel, and remember those feelings. Four Seasons of Love, something that most have experienced or know. Going through each Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter in the cycles of love and loss.
Poetry is the window to the soul that exposes everything. The emotions that are stirred up within make you laugh, cry, and remember a piece of you on the pages.
Find more information about Patricia at her website: http://www.patriciaasaunders.com
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Lyrical and poetically-charged, Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You, The Story of Us by D. Michele Jackson is a memoir of love, loss and rebirth. It is a Black Pearls book of the month! Read the amazing author's interview: https://conta.cc/3cm9gaY
Here is a brief excerpt from Amazing Grace
Every year on the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, the footage of his historical moments ran all day on television. Mommie and I would sit on the couch and have our dinner after making it home from work and school. Together we watched the footage, and she explained the events. The tears I cried after learning people would hate me for the color of my skin! I did the same each year I heard the speech, "I Have A Dream."
I left the couch and lay close to the television set. My mom would say, "Move back from that television. It's going to hurt your eyes to sit that close." I acted as if I didn't hear her. I couldn't move. The speech had begun. Mesmerized, I listened to the words of a great speaker. His words gave me hope, the eloquent articulation showed promise, and his leadership proved God to be well and living. Dr. King said something about "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The speech did not conclude before he provided encouraging words that 1963 was a beginning. All grown up, I've stumbled to a place in history. I can now say little girls who fight hard become women who fight harder.
A Poem by Dr. Howard Thurman: Song of the Angels "When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, and When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, To make music in the heart." Thank you, men of God. I paid close attention.
( Continued… Get the book! )
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
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 Biracial Black president, TaRessa Stovall challenges popular stereotypes and fights nonstop pressures to contort, disguise, or deny her uncomfortable truths.
I invite everyone who hasn't yet read SWIRL GIRL: Coming of Race in the USA to enjoy a FREE Sneak Peek, go here: https://bit.ly/3fnpB1q
About the Author
TaRessa Stovall was born a Jazz Baby in Seattle, Washington. An author since the age of seven, she has written several poems, books, and plays on various topics, including racial identity.
TaRessa is also an award-winning journalist and blogger whose works have been featured in USA Weekend, the Courier-Post, The Montclair Times, The Defenders Online, and several other platforms.
An official “Super Fan” of the OWN television series “Queen Sugar,” TaRessa is the proud mother of a son and a daughter, both multi-talented writers and creatives.
She lives in Atlanta and stirs things up on social media.
Order SWIRL GIRL at https://taressastovall.com
Failure to Protect by Pamela Samuels Young
The author of the award-winning thriller Anybody’s Daughter is back with an addictive read that tackles bullying and its devastating aftermath.
What Really Goes on Behind School Doors?
When the classroom is no longer a safe space for her child, a grieving mother is determined to seek justice for her bullied daughter. Enter hard-charging attorneys Angela Evans and Jenny Ungerman. From the very start, the two lawyers face more than an uphill battle.
An ambitious school principal is far more concerned about protecting her career than getting to the truth. She flat out denies any knowledge of the bullying and prefers to sweep everything under the rug. But just how low will she go?
As the battle enters the courtroom, the attorneys fight hard to expose the truth. But will a massive cover-up hinder their quest for justice?
About the Author
Attorney and award-winning author Pamela Samuels Young writes fast-paced mysteries that tackle important social issues. Her thriller Anybody’s Daughter won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction.
A former journalist, Pamela also writes sexy, sassy romantic suspense under the pen name Sassy Sinclair. Visit her website at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
The Wolf Queen: The Hope of Aferi (Book I) by Cerece Rennie Murphy
Once great and powerful sorcerers, the Amasiti were hunted to the brink of extinction by the Hir and his followers. For four hundred years, their legacy faded from memory waiting for the hope of Aferi to be renewed…
In the Land of Yet At the edge of the Forbidden Forest A young woman lives alone.
Forced to fend for herself after the brutal murder of her family, Ameenah Yemini has made a life for herself as a master tanner and farmer, only venturing into the world to earn her living then return to the safety and seclusion of her home. Until a chance encounter brings her work to the attention of the powerful Hir. And her careful life begins to unravel.
Drawn to the hidden magic that lingers in everything she touches, the new Hir insists on having her for himself, using the people around her to force Ameenah into his grasp. When she realizes that her greatest enemy may hold the key to a secret she thought lost to her forever, Ameenah is determined to reclaim her stolen past. But, at what cost?
As an ancient power waits to be unleashed, Ameenah’s choices will make the difference between awakening a new magic or delivering it into the hands of evil.
Meet Cerece Rennie Murphy
National bestselling and award-winning author Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with writing and science fiction at an early age. It’s a love affair that has grown ever since. In 2012, Mrs. Murphy published the first book in what would become the Order of the Seers sci-fi trilogy. Mrs. Murphy has since published eight books.
In addition to recently publishing her first time-bending romance titled, To Find You, Mrs. Murphy released the 2nd book in the Ellis and The Magic Mirror children’s book series with her son.
Mrs. Murphy lives and writes in her hometown of Washington, DC with her husband, two children and the family dog, Yoda. To learn more about the author and her upcoming projects, please visit her website at www.cerecerenniemurphy.com.
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
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
Where is the human in migration? In an age of immigration as political posturing and propaganda, Massocki Ma 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.
Praise for ' THE PRIDE OF AN AFRICAN MIGRANT' Dr Melanie Griffiths, University of Birmingham, England, UK
'Mixing politics and philosophy with the personal, Massocki recounts his troubling yet powerful tale of migration from Africa to Europe. His memoir weaves in a rich and unusual variety of voices: from individuals he met along his journey, to those of presidents, philosophers, musicians and academics. The result is a provocative, political memoir that seeks to inform people of the realities of migrating to Europe: a call on Africans to embrace their pride and dignity.'
About the Author
Massocki Ma Massocki, Founder and Publisher was born in Cameroon, West Africa. Massocki founded Pierced Rock in 2019. He is a columnist, activist and Pan-Africanist. He has written columns for newspapers around the world as well as articles for regional and international organizations. He has also given talks and conferences in Africa, Asia and Europe on PanAfricanism and global issues. Visit the Pierced Rock Press website to order books: https://piercedrockpress.com
www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
The Mountain We Climb by Dr. Wayne Swan
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.
