Souls of My Young Sisters: A Collection of Sixty Personal, Heart-Rendering Narratives That Will Touch Your Soul
Written and Edited by
Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy
Foreword by Madeline N. Small and Mary J. Blige
"Souls of My Sisters let all women know it was okay to tell your story, and now Souls of My Young Sisters helps young women struggling through life's challenges to tell their stories and heal all of us. A must-read for all women!" – Kyla Pratt, Actress
”Women began the pattern of jealousy and envy. That seed may be planted by magazines, television, family experiences, or amongst peers. But regardless of where it began, setting out on the path of being triumphant requires you to relinquish your feelings of both jealousy and envy.” - Debora Cox, R&B singer
A black woman’s young life is filled with challenges that can either make her or break her. Social hierarchy, impossible relationships, increased responsibility, false friends, economic challenges, love lost, family crises, spiritual searches, and finding oneself are just a few examples of the trials they endure. Sadly, many young black women are too afraid, too proud, or too ashamed to ask for help.
Souls of My Young Sisters: Young Women Break Their Silence with Personal Stories That Will Change Your Life is being released by an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp. from the Souls of My Sisters book collection (release date: June 2010; trade paperback $15.00). This year marks the tenth anniversary since the publication of the first book; Souls of My Sisters. We are honoring this with a Souls of My Sisters Conference on the island of St. Lucia August 5 to 9, 2010. In Souls of My Young Sisters, sixty women ages 18 to 30 share personal stories of their private pain in the hopes that it will be liberating and inspirational for women enduring similar challenges. The women in these pages are survivors.
This book will resonate with women trying to figure out what is next in their young lives. Souls of My Young Sisters implores young women to look to their sisters for honest — sometimes heartbreaking — but always encouraging real-life stories for guidance.
Recent statistics show that more black women are raising their children as single mothers. Surveys also suggest that young black women continuously struggle with self-image, skin tone, and self-esteem. African-American womenare victims ofdomesticviolence at a considerably higher rate than women in other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Souls of My Young Sisters include stories that are reflective of these statistics, and will encourage young women everywhere to begin the healing process.
Book Excerpts:
Desperation, written by Ebony Fletcher, involves painful memories of a man she once loved: “He pulled the revolver out of his coat jacket. He said to me, ‘If I can’t have you, nobody will’…We started to fight for the gun, and he shot me in my leg. He sat on my back after I fell to the floor. He put the gun directly on the back of my head and pulled the trigger…”
Dr. Ravaughn Williams gives us a glimpse of her marriage in Is This Love, a Relationship, Marriage, or Just Hooking Up? “Two months after our wedding day, a very dear friend of ours, Indira, came to live with us for what I thought was going to be a short period… The Lord had revealed to my husband that Indira was going to be his next wife. He did not stop believing that God provided him with a vision to practice polygamy and to have two wives.”
College student Shampale Williams shares in Left Behind: “Five years after my mother gave birth to me, she was incarcerated in prison for five years for possession of drugs. She was dating a young man who was involved with selling drugs. As a child, I did not quite understand what was going on and how her actions would change my life forever…”
“These young women are powerful, and knowing the stories of other young women from around the world keeps you from feeling alone,” say Daniels and Sandy. “Our purpose is to give women the opportunity to be able to recognize themselves in other women’s stories, gain the strength to move on, and live the life that [they] truly deserve.”
The authors — Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy — friends since high school, enlisted the help of women between the ages of 18 to 30 from the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. Sections of the book revolve around questions young women have about self-image, having had enough, why it hurts so bad, being afraid, faith, decisions, career, love, and death. Whether you’re dealing with issues of self-esteem, dating, domestic violence, cyber-stalking, or racial profiling, within these pages a diverse gathering of amazing women like yourself, from entrepreneurs to entertainers, have words of wisdom, inspiration, and practical information. Women of all colors and backgrounds will find stories and/or issues they, or a loved one have confronted in their own lives.
About the Authors:
Dawn Marie Daniels has edited many New York Times bestselling books and has utilized her talents to ensure that African American projects get the attention they deserve.
Candace Sandy is the President of Candace Sandy Communications, a multimedia cooperative that targets women. For twelve years, she has also served as the communications director for the United States House of Representatives.
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Media Inquiries: 212.407.1581 or soulsofmysisters@gmail.com
Souls of My Sisters Collaborates on
Luncheon of Hope With Pastor Joel Osteen and William Rios
New York City--April 22, 2009--Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy, co-publishers of Souls of My Sisters Books/Kensington Publishing Corp. and authors of the national best-selling series Souls of My Sisters Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Our Sprits, collaborated wth community activist Fred Lewis to host a luncheon of Hope with Pastor Joel Osteen at Eastwood Manor in Bronx, New York.
More than 700 community leaders and members of the clergy gathered together for fellowship, including Pastor Donnie McClurkin, Bishop Hezekiah Walker, Pastor Michele White-Haynes, Reverend Jacque DeGaff, Reverend Suzanne Johnson Cook, Bishop Angelo Rosario, Reverend Pamela Ward, Bishop Rueben Mitchell, Pastor Derrick Johnson, Reverend Que English, Pastor Curtis and Tina Norton, Edward and Reverend Joanne Bullock, Deacon Philip Banks, Jr., (President, One Hundred Black Men, Inc.), Edward Bullock and Reverend Joanne Bullock.
Each and every day these individuals respond to their communities' needs on all fronts, providing food, shelter and ministries of care and support during America’s economic crisis. They bring hope to people who are suffering due to a loss of home or employment, believing that hope lies in trusting with confidence and expecting goodness in the midst of difficulties.
“It was an honor to collaborate on this event and we were especially delighted that William Rios, one of the crew members of the Maersk Alabama, and his wife Sherry joined us for our fellowship,” stated Daniels and Sandy. “William has become a symbol of hope for New York City, as are the rest of the crew and its captain.”
Sandy and Daniels will join Pastor Joel and Victoria Osteen for A Night of Hope, where thousands of people will be encouraged, strengthened, and filled with God's hope for the future on Saturday, April 25 in the brand-new Yankee Stadium in New York City.
Joel and his wife Victoria Osteen are pastors of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, the largest and most diverse church in America. Lakewood church’s weekly services are broadcast on numerous national cable networks, including Discovery, USA Network, ABC Family and Daystar Television Network. Joel can also be seen internationally in more than 100 nations via CNBC Europe, Vision Canada, CNBC Australia and Middle East Television, and his weekly services have a viewership of 20 million people each month in the United States alone.
"What's The 411" with Sharon Kay
Candace and Sandy talking about 'Souls of My Sisters' and 'Souls Revealed' on the talkshow "What's The 411" with Sharon Kay on Z88.1 Athens, GA.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PART 1
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PART 2
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PART 3
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