“No.
That will never happen to me. I’m better than that.” These are the profound
words uttered by this writer when her elementary school principal discovered
that she was pregnant at the tender age of 13. She had just been told that she
would end up “Just another negative welfare statistic.”
The young teen was an honor
roll student and had gotten pregnant the same day she lost her virginity. Today
she is 69. Her son is 56. Much has happened over the past 50 years. Her name
continues to be on the “honor roll.” But one roll she has never been on is the
welfare roll. Instead, she has established programs to get mothers off the
welfare rolls.
When
you look at this woman’s life, two words come to mind: “Courage” and “Survivor.”
She has survived childhood abandonment, abuse and teen pregnancy, emotional and
domestic violence in her first failed marriage, alcoholism, and a family
history of mental illness. The writer chronicles these events in her
autobiography, “Born Grown.” She has turned a traumatic early life into
a wonderful legacy for her family.
Today,
the writer is founder of Widows with Wisdom, a support group for women who must
learn how to live alone without their spouses. Prior to becoming a widow, she
helped her late establish a million dollar ministry dedicated to revitalizing a
community on the east side of Detroit. For this work, they received the 107th
Point of Light Award from former President George W. Bush, Sr.
This
community activist has received numerous other awards over the past 36 years
for impacting the lives of thousands of women, writers, and widows. In 2002,
she was honored by the Women’s Informal Network (WIN) as being “One of the Most
Influential African American Women in Metropolitan Detroit.” She is the only
Detroiter included in the first Chicken Soup for the African American Soul
book. In 1989, she received the “Others” Award from the local Salvation Army.
This is one of the highest awards presented by the Salvation Army to those who
care for others. In essence, she has been honored by the president of the
United States, city, county, and state governments, churches, community
organization and individuals.
In
2007, she was presented the Guiding Spirit Award from Sigma Gamma Ro Society.
She was also honored to be included in both the 2007 and 2010 edition of “Who’s
Who in Black Detroit” for her publishing efforts.
This
writer was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and migrated to the U.S. at an
early age. She is an international author, speaker, book coach and editor, as
well as a grandmother and great grandmother.
How did she get from a devastated childhood to where she is
today? She will tell you “The day I got the ‘doomsday prophecy’ from my
school I started writing the script for my life the way I wanted it to be
instead of the way it was. I’ve been blessed to see a lot of that come to pass.
I didn’t know it when I was 13, but God had a plan for my life and it’s amazing
to watch it unfold. I believe the scripture that says ‘As a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he”(Prov. 23:7).
Minister Mary D. Edwards
"Excellence: Get It Done WELL In 2012"
Leaves of Gold Consulting, LLC(313) 744-MARY ~ leavesofgold.llc@gmail.com
www.LeavesOfGoldConsulting.com
"Excellence: Get It Done WELL In 2012"
Leaves of Gold Consulting, LLC(313) 744-MARY ~ leavesofgold.llc@gmail.com
www.LeavesOfGoldConsulting.com
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