April-May SOIGNÉE Lifestyle Magazine

WELCOME!

Ella D. Curry, founder of Soignée Lifestyle Publications

Welcome to our latest issue of Soignée magazine, where we're all about inspiring you to celebrate yourself!

So often, we're told to follow a certain path or adhere to certain expectations. But here's the truth: your life is your own, and it's up to you to create the story that you want to live.

That's why we've put together a collection of articles and books that will encourage you to take risks, embrace your unique perspective, invest in your future, and live authentically.

Maybe you're an aspiring writer, an entrepreneur with a big idea, or simply someone who is looking for a change. Whatever your situation, we believe that you have the power to shape your own destiny.

So grab a cup of coffee/wine, settle in, and let's discover your true purpose and make your dreams a reality. Cheers!

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“The journey toward self-discovery is life’s greatest adventure.”

Arianna Huffington

Journey to Self-Discovery: A Woman's Path to Inner Peace and Happiness after Divorce

Beyond Meditation and Journaling: Unique Ways to Nourish Your Mind & Soul

A Letter for My Mother by Nina Foxx

Raising Children as a Parent with HIV

Choosing Love Over Limitations: A Single Woman's Journey to Adoption and Empowerment

Lay Hands on Me: Single Women Healing from Trauma Bonding & Touch Deprivation

Content

“When you know yourself you are empowered. When you accept yourself you are invincible.” Tina Lifford

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Over 50 Loving All of Me: Am I Really Enough?

An Accidental Yogi

by Nina Foxx

Sisterhood: Mental Health Checks

Embracing Your Feminine Essence

Mental Health Tips for Solopreneurs

Benefits of Circular Dating for Women Over 45

42 49 51 55 60 62

Content

Triumph Over Self-Sabotage: 5 Ways to Change Your Mindset Strategies for Secure Funding for Woman Owned Small Businesses

Becoming a Social Media Influencer Seeking Brand Deals and Sponsors

The Art of Delegation: How to Overcome Overwhelm and Mental Burnout Launch a Home-based Business Without Breaking the Bank

Building a Strong Foundation for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Content

“Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits.”

69 73 77 78 87 96

Afro-Bougie Blues: A Collection of Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson Spice and Spectrum, Recipes for Resilience by iCan Dream Center and Chef Jerome Brown

Leadership in Action: 5 Key Principles of Effective Racial Justice Work Ignore The Voices In Your Head by Julius Kane

Crown Holders Books of the Month

Banish Your Midlife Crisis BluesWorkbook and Reflection Sheets

Nina Foxx

A Letter for My Mother

Thirty-five female writers share their essays and letters—hilarious, heartwrenching, and everything in between— in this wise and poignant collection about mother-daughter relationships.

Whether they’re from the US, Caribbean, India, or the UK, all of the contributors to A Letter for My Mother share one thing in common: thoughts that have been left unsaid to their mothers and mother figures—until now.

In this moving book, thirty-five women reveal the stories, reflections, confessions, and revelations they’ve kept to themselves for years and have finally put into words. Written through tears and pain, as well as joy and laughter, each offering presents the motherdaughter bond in a different light.

Heartfelt and deeply meaningful, A Letter for My Mother will inspire you to admire and cherish that special relationship that shapes every woman.

Read an excerpt from the book: https://amzn.to/42xLgg3

Island Secrets: A Queens of Kiawah Story

by Nina Foxx

His boat came in, but Denise Martine’s husband, Charles, wasn’t on it Almost a year later, with his death still a mystery, Denise retreats to their vacation home on Kiawah Island to begin to sort out his affairs and her feelings amongst a group of her friends, only to be confronted with the mystery he left behind Although she must go on, Denise feels as if something is not quite right with her husband's mysterious disappearance Her suspicions are compounded as an old flame from college, Trent, shows up and begins to poke around in what Denise considers to be a very private matter.

Virtual Yoga with Nina

Join Nina online from the comfort of your home for yoga, several times a week. She will meet you where you are and no experience is necessary. All you need is a mat and maybe, a blanket or pillow.

Classes are all levels and you can choose from individual classes or a subscription. Subscribers can attend any class and view any recorded class, plus extras from the on-demand library.

Schedule Sessions: www.ninafoxx.com/yogafoxx

Sisterhood

The solidarity of women based on shared conditions, experiences, or concerns. Connected by one family, association, society, or community linked by common interests, passions, religion, education, or trades.

Mental Health Checks

Showup...

Try holding yourself accountable to yourself!

If you had to give yourself a daily, weekly, or monthly report, would you be proud to talk about what you had done, or would you need to be prettying up things, lying, or bullshitting to keep your job?

― Loren Weisman, The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business

“The world needs who you were made to be.” ― Joanna Gaines

Sistahs Securing the Bag

Women of Color Will Be the Majority of All Women in the United States by 2060!

Run the Stats

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According to Catalyst's website, one in five people in the United States is a woman of color. Women of color comprised 20.3% of the United States population in 2021, an increase from 18.4% in 2010. Women of color account for 89% of the new women-owned businesses per day.

Four million new jobs and $981 billion in revenue would be added to the economy if the average revenue of minority women-owned businesses matched that of white women-owned businesses, stated by the American Express: 2019 State of Women-Owned Business Report.

According to American Express female entrepreneurship statistics (2019), 1,817 new women-owned businesses are created each day in the U.S.

Millennial women are 22% more likely to be a founder of a startup than Baby Boomers. Women are much more likely than men (37% vs. 18%) to take investment risks by backing startups to diversify their portfolios. (National Women's Business Council Annual Report 2022)

Minority women-owned businesses made $422 billion in revenue in 2019. African American/Black women represent 42% of new womenowned businesses in the U.S. Latina/Hispanic women represent 31% of all new women-owned businesses in the U S

Scarred, But Not Broken by L. Catrise Harris

Let your past prepare you, not define you!

Here is the untold story of Catrise’s courageous battles with molestation, abuse, homelessness, motherhood, and a whirlwind of struggle. Indulge yourself in her account of a selfinflicted hell and life-changing experiences with brutal honesty, which ultimately leads to an uplifting story of overcoming life’s adversity.

Tastefully written, Scarred, But Not Broken delves into the meaning of family and relationships, love and deceit—and how it is possible to maintain your sanity despite life’s challenges, even if you are on the verge of losing it all.

Scarred, But Not Broken is proof that where you come from doesn’t have to determine where you can go, and it is a powerful message of how a troubled young girl can blossom into a powerful and confident woman.

Catrise Harris, born Laquilla Catrise Harris, is a former model, owner of several businesses, and a survivor. Catrise lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her three beautiful children, and she enjoys spending time with her children, comedy for laughter, and music to feed her soul. Despite the adversities that she faced in her earlier years, she has learned to rely on her belief in God and her love for her children to get her through. Website: www.iamcatrise.com

Afro-Bougie Blues: A Collection of Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson

Afro-Bougie Blues: A Collection of Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson is an anthology of twelve extraordinary short stories that deal with the lives of ordinary African American men and women facing life's challenges head-on

This collection features an assortment of stories the next more poignant than the last Wilson pulls no punches when she tackles such subjects as abortion, alcoholism, and even a single father tasked with trying to discuss love and sex with his teenage daughter

As a mother of two, I really felt the pain of the female protagonist who first had an abortion and then later on kept having miscarriages. Or the story of the gentleman with post-traumatic stress disorder. After giving his service to his country his reward was to live in a waking nightmare. A nightmare where he daily sees children the age of his daughter dying with homemade bombs

I lived in Frankfort, KY at one time and attended K S U I very much appreciated the historical research that went into the story that featured this small but thriving city Wilson has a great way of helping readers empathize with her characters In every story, I had no trouble feeling what the characters felt

I cringed while reading about the dilemma faced by the young woman meeting her boyfriend's mother for the first time and the subsequent age-old problem of light skin versus dark skin rearing its ugly head.

I give Afro-Bougie Blues: A Collection of Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson 4 out of 5 stars from affirmative action, dashed hopes and dreams, to adulterous confessions Afro-Bougie Blues has it all

Reviewed by Wymanette

Castaneda - Reedsy/Discovery

Afro-Bougie Blues - Chapter Excerpt

Mourning Angela

My body tried to warn me, but I didn't want to listen. So, it sent my back pain. I ignored it. A stomachache Not feelin' it The spotting was the final hint, and then the geyser came Another miscarriage was dashing my hopes for motherhood

It was 10 o'clock in the morning and I was midway through an experiment in the laboratory that would just have to wait until I could get back to it. My mind had flipped into mushroom mode, and all I could think of was getting back home to the comfort of my own bathroom, where I could hide from the world and cry in peace.

The drive home was mercifully brief and required enough concentration to block out everything but the pain But when I got home, there was no more escape from the voices in my head It was my fifth miscarriage in two years, and each one took another piece of my sanity and yanked it from my psyche

Alexis the Perfectionist couldn't do the most natural thing in the world The rows of prenatal vitamins, immunological and Progesterone boosters, and herbal remedies mocked me from my medicine cabinet. I couldn't hide from the reality of my failure and the treachery of my uterus.

Seventeen years ago, when I hadn't wanted to be pregnant, I was. Now at age 34, when I wanted to get pregnant, I couldn't. So, there I sat in my cream-colored bathroom, crying. Again. Just as I had five months ago and three months before that I was sure this was some sort of punishment visited upon me by a vengeful God over the innocent life I had taken in my youth My past had come back to haunt me; seventeen years ago, I had aborted a child

Only my mother and my husband Terrence knew. To the rest of the world, I was a perfectionist ice queen who had probably never thought about love or sex for that matter. Instead, I had spent seventeen years immersed in books and research, clawing my way through college and grad school, then letting my Ph.D. and my "I'm in Control" attitude open new doors for me and slam shut on the disaster of my youth and my ill-fated attempt at love

My marriage to Terrence had shocked my co-workers, but he had broken through my ice shield with an overwhelming barrage of warmth and laughter, pulling me out of my career-minded rut and giving me a reason to try to love again.

We had met when my lab needed an IT consultant to create a system for the reams of data that threatened to drown us. Terrence was completely in his element, sweeping in, learning everyone's jobs, designing a database that would fit who we were as scientists, and giving it enough bells and whistles to make us want to use it

Afro-Bougie Blues - Chapter Excerpt

All that with a laid-back "I Got This" attitude that was so different from our pressure cooker environment. In fact, I found myself cooking up excuses to be around him, presumably to help him tweak the database. He knew how to make me laugh at myself. And I loved it. After his contract was over, we started dating.

I remembered the night I had told him I'd been pregnant before. I had orchestrated it as the crucial moment in our relationship that it was. We had not yet had sex, but since the attraction was there, I wanted to tell him early -I didn't want it to be a secret. So, we met for dinner at a seafood restaurant; I picked a place we'd never been to before to symbolize exploring new territory. I told him just before the check came.

"Terrence, there's something I need to tell you, and it could change how you see me as a person, but it's important I think you know how much I like you I hope we'll become very close, but you also need to know how seriously I take birth control I got pregnant when I was seventeen I thought I was in love, and I didn't understand enough about sex I didn't think that one time would do it But it did The only thing I did know was I didn't want to be a teenage mother or waddle through my senior year pregnant "

I stopped there I'd never told another man I'd never wanted to get serious enough with anyone else to trust them with that one piece of information, or rather those three pieces: I'd had sex at age seventeen, gotten pregnant, and aborted the child. It wasn't that I was ashamed or had remorse. I simply knew too many people wouldn't understand where I was coming from back then. For me, the abortion had been a pragmatic decision.

There had been no angst at all, but no one liked to hear that. I was supposed to have anguished about this for days and weeks, teetered on the fence with it, and contemplated keeping the child and raising it myself. I did none of that. Instead, I aborted the child within me and never looked back.

(Continued

) Book Praise

The best short stories should explore ideas as well as emotions centering around an instance where intense change becomes possible or at least, imaginable for the character and this is true in all of Wilson's stories but perhaps no more so than in "Mourning Angela" where every sentence is as full and alive as a sentence can be while managing to stay ordinary and wholly relatable to her readers And it's this kind of attention to detail and richness of texture that lifts her characters from the page into some more lasting place in a reader's mind

With twelve stories for readers to immerse themselves in and characters that feel vulnerable and real, AfroBougie Blues is a must-read for fans of short fiction and is an unreservedly recommended 5-star read!

Reviewed by BookViral

Spice and Spectrum, Recipes for Resilience

by iCan Dream Center and Chef Jerome Brown

Chef Jerome Brown has partnered with Tinley Park, Illinois-based nonprofit iCan Dream Center (www.icandreamcenter.com) in the creation of Spice & Spectrum. He is donating proceeds of the book to the organization which serves students in the south suburbs of Chicago who are marginalized by neurodiversity, disabilities, trauma, and other learning challenges

Spice & Spectrum is a collection of Chef Jerome Brown's most recent recipes broken into five sections that align with the iCan Dream Center mission Throughout the Dream, Restore, Empower, Amplify, and Mobilize sections of the book, Dr Evisha Ford, the founder and executive director of iCan Dream Center, shares the mission of the organization, stories of students navigating trauma, and the healing benefit of the organization's culinary program that is highlighted throughout the book.

Students with autism (neurodiversity) and disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their non-disabled peers What's more, 35% of inmates in juvenile lockups have some form of neurodiversity (autism, ADHD, et all) or other learning disability

The iCan Dream Center seeks to empower students with autism and other learning deficits with the skills needed to thrive in life and to defy the statistics Whether it is giving students opportunities to grow as student leaders, gaining vocational skills, self-advocacy, and self-care skills like cooking, the organization works with students individually to thrive. iCan Dream Center is a 501c3 nonprofit therapeutic school endorsed by the Illinois State Board of Education and serves dozens of school districts throughout the suburbs of Chicago.

Spice and Spectrum, Recipes for Resilience

Chef Jerome Brown

Jerome Brown, also known as Chef Rome, is the Chef to the Stars! With 35 years of professional cooking experience, he’s become the go-to chef for celebrities worldwide You’ve seen him on the Food Network’s Extreme Chef, ESPN, IVillage live, Black Enterprise Magazine, IHeart Radio, and many publications

Chef Rome has shared his passion for cuisine with a variety of A+ list celebrities, dignitaries, and elite professional athletes such as Colin Powell, Shaquille O'Neal, Lamman Rucker, Priscilla Presley, Star Jones, Nancy Kerrigan, Carl Gustaf (King of Sweden), Byron Cage, Mike Bibby, Cam Newton and more.

He has earned an international reputation for being trustworthy and results-driven "Chef Rome allowed me, for the first time in my entire career, to lose weight while inactive" stated retired NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal

Chef Rome has been a featured chef for Disney’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival In 2016, he was ranked #8 in the world out of the top one thousand chefs in the seafood category of the World Food Championship

His Southern roots are from North Carolina. His mother was the oldest girl out of twenty-three children. Everyone had to learn how to cook. His roots in the kitchen run deep. His father was a chef and his mother a dietician. Chef Rome truly knows his way around the kitchen. He travels around the world bringing his southern cuisine with a gourmet twist approach to soul food Get your taste buds ready, unbuckle your belt, and hold on tight Chef Rome is bringing the soul of the kitchen to your home now! Bon Appetit!

Dr. Evisha Ford

Dr Evisha Ford is the Founding Executive Director of iCan Dream Center, a therapeutic school in Illinois, that serves the needs of neurodiverse learners and their families She began her career serving inner-city homeless youth in Chicago by providing therapeutic intervention and linkages to community resources She worked with various community agencies to build their capacity to support the needs of vulnerable youth via training, resource development, and program evaluation.

Dr. Ford was recruited by Chicago Public Schools launching her path in education. She is a former Assistant Superintendent, Director of Special Education, and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership.

Dr Ford is a sought-after thought leader and consultant in schools nationally and internationally She specializes in trauma-compassionate leadership, program design, cultural and racial equity, developing continuums of service for diverse learners, and a variety of other topics relevant to effective school and nonprofit leadership She is the author of Benches in the Bathroom: Leading a Physically, Emotionally, and Socially Safe School Culture

Dr. Ford has a passion for marginalized youth which began at an early age. She earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and completed her doctoral studies at Aurora University in Educational Leadership in 2010. Her research focus was students with disabilities, youth resiliency, and systemic injustice.

Dr Ford was recognized by the Professional Women’s Network as a “Community Ignitor” In July 2019 In the Winter of 2019, she received the Paige Award for her impact within the special needs community In July 2022, Dr Ford received the “Dream Maker Award” from the Bronzeville Children’s Museum of Chicago

Dr Evisha Ford is an experienced speaker on educational equity and is available to discuss her students' involvement in Chef Jerome Brown's book and the intersection of trauma, disability, and the incarceration/schoolto-prison pipeline. Dr. Ford and Chef Jerome Brown are available for joint or individual media interviews. The authors can be contacted at https://icandreamcenter.com/contact

Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas by Chef Jerome Brown

Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas by Chef Jerome Brown, Personal Chef to the Stars showcases a compilation of family recipes, client favorites, and low-calorie meals featuring frog legs, oxtails, marsala meatloaf, and other Southern delicacies indigenous to North and South Carolina.

"I put everything I could into this book, and I did it with love," said Chef Rome, who has cooked for athletes and celebrities such as Byron Cage, and Cam Newton The former Food Network Star and featured Epcot International Food & Wine Festival chef prides himself on putting a healthy spin on Southern cuisine, helping many of his clients lose weight Chef Rome has shared his passion for cuisine with a variety of A+ list dignitaries, and elite community leaders such as President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, Star Jones, Raymond Felton, Lamman Rucker, and more

He was cast in the premiere season of the Food Network's reality show "Extreme Chef," and appeared in the United States Army series "I've Got Skills" that aired on ESPN. Throughout his journey, Chef Jerome Brown has always maintained a desire to help others and has given back to aspiring chefs and marginalized youth.

Chef Rome was a featured celebrity Chef for two years at the prestigious Epcot International Food & Wine Festival He has been featured at the Taste of Chicago, the world's largest outdoor food festival

Purchase your copy of Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas by Chef Jerome Brown! Explore the book here - https://bit ly/411xGQQ

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

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

Crown Holders Conversation with Kofi Annan

Listen & Share today: http://tobtr.com/s/12194953

Ignore The Voices In Your Head

by Julius Kane

After leaving his favorite bar, a wild, womanizing advertising executive takes a woman back to his place and immediately regrets it. Jack begins to hear a strange voice telling him to do horrible things. Initially thinking his house may be haunted, he becomes extremely paranoid after finding out he is being watched by other world beings In order to get to the bottom of the aliens' fascination with him, Jack joins up with a group of misfits who've had a few bizarre encounters of their own

After receiving a reliable tip, the group goes into the notorious Dark Entry Forest looking for answers; despite the disappearance of dozens of people who entered before them. Along the way, they find out their ruined lives are connected by tragedy Jack and his new friends then get caught in a life-and-death struggle against many powerful forces

Connect with Julius Kane

Your words can hurt, help or heal. Choose your words wisely. That said, if you love words that paint pictures, implant ideas and whisk you away from the monotony and stress of everyday life, you're in the right place If you're ready to use your imagination, take a journey with me!

Listen on Audible: https://adbl.co/3zHMTuQ

Ignore The Voices In Your Head - Chapter Excerpt

A clear, masculine voice responded. It was the same voice from last night I heard laughing. The same pitch The same tone A nervous pain shot through my abdomen Who the hell was in my house? I stared anxiously down the hall towards my bedroom The door was partially cracked I couldn't remember if that was how I left it The bathroom door was shut Did I close it this morning?

I grabbed the biggest knife I saw from my kitchen cutlery set and went to investigate. I intentionally left the front door cracked; just in case I needed to run out fast. I didn't want to fidget with the doorknob. Cautiously, I searched my bedroom; prepared for some fiending drug addict to jump out at me. The closets and hideaways were clear. I opened the bathroom door; nothing.

"Great!" I was relieved But I was hearing things I chalked it up to an overactive imagination That was my reasoning That was how I would be able to get through the next hour the next day the next week without checking myself into Bellevue

I hurried to close my front door. I shut and locked my window as well. I didn't want that giant fur ball sneaking back in. I was hoping nobody got off the elevator and saw Mrs. Toombs' cat Flandy dead on my living room floor. That would be a huge headache I didn't need. I grabbed about five trash bags and a pair of work gloves I sometimes used whenever my trash can became extra nasty.

I didn't know how pet owners disposed of their dead pets in New York, but I was going to throw Flandy into the dumpster out back She wasn't my cat She wasn't my problem And that oversized fur ball that killed her didn't belong to me either But here I was in the middle of this weird God-knows-what-shit

( Continued... )

Connect with Julius Kane

Your words can hurt, help or heal Choose your words wisely That said, if you love words that paint pictures, implant ideas and whisk you away from the monotony and stress of everyday life, you're in the right place If you're ready to use your imagination, take a journey with me!

Website: https://juliuskane.org

Audible: https://adbl.co/3zHMTuQ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliuskane7

Ingram: https://www.instagram.com/realjuliuskane

YouTube: https://www youtube com/@writerjuliuskane

Crown Holders Chat with Julius Kane

Please share something our readers wouldn’t know about you. I've been writing since I was twelve years old. I've had articles in the Washington Post while working as the editor of my school paper.

Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?

Pushing the envelope and expanding literature beyond the same regurgitated hack everybody else is writing.

How did you choose the genre you write in? Have you considered writing in another genre?

I write in all genres And with the release of 'Ignore The Voices In Your Head,' expect more sci-fi

Is writing easy for you? Did you ever take classes in writing?

No, I didn't take any classes or workshops on writing It came naturally Writing is easy determining the subject matter is not

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

There is no greater feeling than having your thoughts come together and you're able to push out chapters or dope outlines. That's energizing. The exhaustion only comes after you refuse to leave your computer until it's done.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Sure. But it's not called writer's block. It's called life. And it's filled with people who block our connection to the universe; separating us from our natural creative energy.

Do you try to deliver to readers what they want or let the characters guide your writing?

Good stories write themselves Character-driven fiction, for example, isn't for everybody Just like you can't be friends with everybody Most people like characters that make them feel good Real writers aren't people pleasers on paper or in real life

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips on self-care for creative folks? It's not the writing, it's the people Sometimes you gotta elbow people out of your zone who are there to hinder and distract you Writing is a stress relief for me My advice, move towards activities that enhance growth not make you feel obligated Forcing yourself to write about something you don't want to write about is what's stressful. And being around energy vampires is what drains you.

What other projects are you working on at the present?

A very long sci-fi trilogy, LOL. 'Bone Snatchers From Beyond The Realm' is strictly rip-roaring, page-turning entertainment. Oh, and a family play that you can take your wife and kids to. Something you don't see anymore at all. As you know that's the kind of stuff I write about.

How can readers discover more about you and your work?

Go to my website or drop me a line at Julius Kane org

BLACK FOUNDER

As Spikes writes, BLACK FOUNDER isn’t just a book for winners, it’s a book for everyone willing to try.

While Spikes was pondering his next act, he was told MoviePass might be available to purchase out of bankruptcy. After some tough negotiations, Spikes rebought his company—with the goal of re-launching the beloved brand

BLACK FOUNDER grants us access to the hidden world of tech start-ups, it’s a journey and guidebook to cracking the glass ceiling for any outsider facing impossible odds. The lessons come with humor, poignancy and enlightenment that will fuel the ambition and drive of anyone who wants to manifest their dreams. Taking listeners inside the battles of the boardroom and beyond,

BLACK FOUNDER is a business memoir that will inspire every outsider who has a dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

Stacy Spikes is an award-winning entrepreneur and inventor who USA Today named one of the 21 most influential Blacks in technology. He holds several technology patents and is the cofounder and CEO of the nation’s first theatrical subscription service, MoviePass. In addition, Spikes is the founder of Urbanworld, the largest international festival dedicated to nurturing Women and BIPOC filmmakers.

Soignée Reading List

Inspiration.

Motivation. Empowerment. Transformation.

Belonging: A Daughter's Search for Identity Through Loss and Love

by Michelle Miller

Why Am I Like This?: How to Break Cycles, Heal from Trauma by

Kobe Campbell

Unbreak Me: Push Beyond Fear, Gain Resilience & Reclaim Your Strength by Wendy

Ida

Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships

by Nedra Glover Tawwab

Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas by Chef Jerome

Brown

Fast Like a Girl: A Woman's Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting by Dr

Mindy Pelz

Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters

This is the first book to define and explore Black fatigue, the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on the physical and psychological health of Black people--and explain why and how society needs to collectively do more to combat its pernicious effects.

Black people, young and old, are fatigued, says awardwinning diversity and inclusion leader Mary-Frances Winters It is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining to continue to experience inequities and even atrocities, day after day, when justice is a God-given and legislated right. And it is exhausting to have to constantly explain this to white people, even--and especially--well-meaning white people, who fall prey to white fragility and too often are unwittingly complicit in upholding the very systems they say they want dismantled

This book, designed to illuminate the myriad dire consequences of "living while Black," came at the urging of Winters's Black friends and colleagues. Winters describes how in every aspect of life--from economics to education, work, criminal justice, and, very importantly, health outcomes--for the most part, the trajectory for Black people is not improving It is paradoxical that, with all the attention focused over the last fifty years on social justice and diversity and inclusion, little progress has been made in actualizing the vision of an equitable society

Black people are quite literally sick and tired of being sick and tired. Winters writes that "my hope for this book is that it will provide a comprehensive summary of the consequences of Black fatigue, and awaken activism in those who care about equity and justice-those who care that intergenerational fatigue is tearing at the very core of a whole race of people who are simply asking for what they deserve "

About Mary-Frances Winters

Mary-Frances Winters is the Founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a 36-year old global diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm She is a passionate advocate for justice and equity; a provocateur not afraid to have the difficult conversations. MaryFrances has over three decades of experience working with corporate leaders in support of enhancing their understanding of what it is like to be the “other.”

Mary-Frances Winters has served on national not-for profit, corporate and university boards, and has received many awards and honors including the ATHENA award, Diversity

Pioneer from Profiles in Diversity Journal, The Winds of Change from Forum on Workplace Inclusion and Forbes 10 diversity trailblazers

Unbossed: How Black Girls Are Leading the Way

by Khristi Lauren Adams

Black girls are leading, organizing, advocating, and creating They are starting nonprofits Building political coalitions. Promoting diverse literature. Fighting cancer. Improving water quality. Working to prevent gun violence.

Are we ready to learn from their leadership?

"Black women are literally at the helm of every movement," says Tyah-Amoy Roberts, an activist and a survivor of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. "Every push for social justice. Every push for social change We need to take our stories into our own hands " In Unbossed, they do

From Khristi Lauren Adams, author of the celebrated Parable of the Brown Girl, comes Unbossed, a hopeful and riveting inquiry into the lives of eight young Black women who are agitating for change and imagining a better world Offering practical lessons in leadership, resilience, empathy, and tenacity from a group of young leaders of color who are often neglected, Unbossed includes profiles of Jaychele Nicole Schenck, Ssanyu Lukoma, Tyah-Amoy Roberts, Grace Callwood, Hannah Lucas, Amara Ifeji, Stephanie Younger, and Kynnedy Smith

These are the young Black women we will be reading about decades from now. Like their foremothers in earlier freedom movements, Black girls are transformational leaders They are pacesetters, strategic thinkers, visionaries, mobilizers, activists, and more. Their stories may often be overlooked. But Black girls are leading the way.

About Khristi Lauren Adams

Khristi Lauren Adams is a speaker, advocate, ordained Baptist minister, and award-winning author of Parable of the Brown Girl.

She is the founder and director of The Becoming Conference, designed to empower, educate, and inspire teenage girls

Her ministry and youth advocacy have been featured on CNN, and her work has appeared in Huffington Post, Off the Page, and the Junia Project.

She is currently the Dean of Spiritual Life & Equity at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Website: khristilaurenadams.com

Hope Leans Forward: Braving Your Way toward Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace by Valerie Brown

Daily we are asked to move toward bravery, to stretch in the direction of goodness, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and vulnerability Yet life's tender fragility, fear, anxiety, and our own practiced self-sabotage can derail us from growing and thriving, leaving us fractured and afraid.

Ordained Buddhist teacher and Quaker Valerie Brown invites us into the heart of compassion, insight, and courage. Filled with Quaker wisdom, mindfulness meditation practices, and portraits of real people living out simple yet life-affirming bravery, Hope Leans Forward is a guidebook for all of us who are on journeys of self-transformation, self-discovery, and spiritual discernment

Centering small, everyday acts of bravery with diverse stories from marginalized communities, Brown's unique perspective as a Black Buddhist Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition and her extensive leadership experience shepherd us in navigating life's essential questions to discover true aliveness and meaning. When we focus on cultivating clarity and discernment in our purpose, we begin to understand that we are truly connected to--and that we contribute to--a larger whole

Written through a period of profound personal loss and in the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Brown's spiritual insight and life- and spirit-tested wisdom offers a new source for anyone seeking hope, and seeking to alleviate suffering within ourselves and our communities

About Valerie Brown

Valerie Brown a Buddhist-Quaker Dharma teacher, facilitator, and executive coach

A former lawyer and lobbyist, she is co-director of Georgetown's Institute for Transformational Leadership as well as founder and chief mindfulness officer of Lead Smart Coaching

She is an ordained Buddhist Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, and is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher In her leadership development and mindfulness practice, she focuses on diversity, social equity, and inclusion She holds a juris doctor from Howard University School of Law, a master of arts from Miami University (Ohio), and a bachelor of arts from City University of New York. Brown tends a lively perennial home garden in New Hope, Pennsylvania Website: valeriebrown us

Crown Holders Book-A-Week Reading Challenge

We are asking our readers to join us in a year-long reading challenge Each week we will read a new book and discuss it on the Black Pearls Magazine Facebook fan page. Log into Facebook and scan the QR code below. Under each book listed on our page, feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, questions, and book reviews. We welcome all book lovers!

Each year thousands of people and educators, concerned parents, community leaders, authors, poets, personal development coaches and publishers devote their time and resources to presenting the reader with great books! However, too many outstanding books do not get the attention and reader support that they deserve.

It is our mission at Crown Holders Transmedia and Soignée Lifestyle Publications to connect readers with these hidden gems and bring them books that will impact their lives Please scan the QR code and visit all of our bookstore shelves and share the reading lists with your friends

Scan the QR code to shop for new books at our bespoke online bookstore or visit our reading lists at www.amazon.com/shop/edc1creations. There are books for the entire family including poetry books, science fiction, crime thrillers, bibles, faith-filled fiction, business & self-help books, non-fiction, children's books, cookbooks, and even history books

Scan & Shop

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was an educator, philanthropist, humanitarian, womanist, and civil rights activist. Born to former slaves a decade after the Civil War, devoted her life to ensuring the right to education and freedom from discrimination for African Americans. She was an educator, an organizer, and a political activist, and opened one of the first schools for African American girls.

The whole world opened up to me when I learned to read”

– Mary McCleod Bethune