Coming Soon
The Miseducation of Love
Excerpt
The truth is, I never had anyone to tell or show me what a woman should do with a man. How to act, what to say or expect. It's sad to say, but I never got the traditional birds and bees talk. Hell, my momma didn't even explain to me about my period. I just woke up one Sunday morning with blood on my sheets. I thought I was dying. Then I remembered what Mrs. Burkes said in my Health Studies class, "Girls have this once a month for a couple of days, and that's what makes us women."
Humm, I told my mother about my period. She just brought me some pads and tossed them on my lap while I was sitting on the floor watching Good Times. I was 11 years old. She didn't teach me shit.
I never understood why God chose me to be the poor Black kid with kinky hair and crooked teeth. Looking in the mirror, I'm unsure if I would have loved me either. Please, don't feel sorry for me. I learned how to be a woman by God-given instinct. Sure, I've picked up some things along the way from TV, my friends, and trial and error from multiple failed relationships. Hell, at 40, I'm still messing up and learning shit along the way.
It's been a journey. I don't profess to know everything or proclaim to be this enlightened sista who knows the ten steps to marry the perfect man. All I know is that I fell in love when I least expected it with my best friend. It was through this love that I learned how to forgive past transgressions, love myself, and capture a man's heart in a season.
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Like I said, It's been a journey. So, I toast to the shitty hand I was dealt the day I was born, to my momma who thought a piece of man was more important than raising her daughter, to the kids who laughed at my out-of-style clothes, and to all the men that made me think I wasn't enough. Finally, I am at peace with my very existence. Not only did I survive fucked up shit, I got everything I needed along the way to be a better woman, daughter, mother, and friend. Now that is redemption for your ass PERIOD.
XOXO ZAY
Zay Alexander, Senior Editor of Black-Tie Magazine, embarks on an inspiring journey as she navigates the thrilling highs of a successful career while searching for love. Her determination to meet societal expectations around wealth, career, and romance broke her heart and nearly cost her everything. Thanks to her Great-Grandmother's heartfelt prayers and an old friend, she uncovers powerful insights about self-love and discovers the exhilarating path to true fulfillment.
Finally Love
Excerpt
I'm unsure where to begin, but the beginning is as good of a place as any. My life has certainly been complicated, to say the least, but I refuse to shed any more tears or complain about it. I fully acknowledge my role in this journey for love.
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For years, I put my life aspirations behind me and settled for less than I deserved. I often wonder how I let anyone take the most invaluable thing I can ever reclaim—my time.
Girlfriend, misfortunes, and tribulations came to me disguised as 20 years of sacrifice to a man who swore he loved me. Thankfully, the heartache of a broken marriage led me to a soulful awakening. Still, I hold true to my conviction that I owe nothing to the world, and it doesn't owe me either.
I'm a living testament that the end of one chapter is the beginning of another. The spirit of the woman I was meant to be filled me with love, blessed me with grace, and drove me to my purpose. Finally, love found its way to me effortlessly.
Vivian Harlow