The process of writing my memoir proved to be both a personal and literary lesson, which will add value to my life for years to come.
Cinderella I Wish!
After the break up of my 25 years marriage I surveyed the terrain I had covered during my life. I was intrigued by my journey and I decided to use my life to empower people in need of hope.
As I began to write my memoir, I had a clear vision about wanting to create a multimedia experience of living in England in the late 60’s as a Black British/Caribbean child. I wanted to create a vivid journey with a narrative style of story telling accompanied by a music playlist and photographs. But in this era of copyright law, the photos had to go.
The writing process took me 3 years and 8 drafts. And, I attended an Advance Autobiography Writers course with Author Caroline Natzler at CityLit in London. After pitching my manuscript to publishers & Literary Agents for a few months. I received some interest from a number of publishers but I decided to try Self-Publishing.
Matador came highly recommend by The Times & The Artist & Writers Yearbook, which is an authors bible. The Self-Publishing experience proved to be straight forward.
I thoroughly enjoyed the autonomy the process afforded. If you are thinking about Self-Publishing I strongly recommend that you invest in professional proof reading and Copy editing. As one of the biggest criticisms of self-published books is they are often full of typos.
Writing a memoir is very different from writing fiction, you have to dig deep into the darkest parts of your life for a ‘no hold barred’ critical evaluation by you and more importantly by the world.
For me, writing my memoir was truly cathartic & liberating. As I wrote I realised, I am in the 2% club. I have experienced some of the ugliest & cruelest eliminates of humanity. I have been kidnapped, abused, raped, suffered domestic violence & murder. Yet, you would never know by looking at me or spending time in my company. My friends described me as fun loving, vivacious, motivating & inspiring. Who I am is a credit to my ability to nurture myself & develop through adversity.
I am not defined by the experiences I have had but by who I am as a person, I am an anomaly.
As I wrote about the most harrowing events in my life my survival strategy became clear, whilst storms & hurricanes roared I fought for knowledge, understanding, personal growth & development
Self love is my biggest challenge because whilst I have always loved myself I have often loved others more which has allowed me to prioritise the needs of others over my own, to my detriment. I now affirm my self love daily by remaining centred, mindful and practicing daily affirmations.
The greatest love of all is to love yourself. People will invariably let you down; you must be your own constant.
Life on earth can be challenging and difficult but it is only temporary, so don’t let challenges in your life define you or persecute your spirit; your spirit is too beautiful to be defined by this life.
My ability to love, thrive & rise through adversity means my life has not been in vain.