All That is Good | Ch.2 & Ch.3

Reflect & Connect with Dr. James-Etta

In this episode I share an excerpt from my unpublished book "All That is Good".

While it is common practice in the Black community for children to be raised by extended family members, studies show that children who experience life with absent biological parents drop out of high school, with 40% being Black female students. Meanwhile, all females, especially Black females need to hear more stories about Black women who have overcome obstacles to achieve educational, personal and professional goals to help inspire wisdom and resilience.

Chapter 2 gives voice to my early educational experiences and what shaped my thoughts about school. I talk about a good childhood friend and the influence she had on my beliefs about learning. Meanwhile, as an impulsive teenager, I was influenced by everything except the right thing. And Chapter 3 explains how I would do whatever was necessary to fit in with the crowd, which included underage drinking, sex and drugs. It would be the start of a trip to rock bottom, hopelessness and a suicide attempt. Spoiler alert: I survived suicide but rock bottom was nothing compared to what was ahead.