Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine April Issue - Heaven & Hell | Page 47

“I was blessed to meet her, have a heartfelt conversation about mentally affected family members and Got her to sign my copy of 72 Hour Hold. Miss her presence.” — Cordenia Paige “I loved that 72 Hour Hold and Sometimes Mommy Gets Angry spoke on mental illness in the Black community. 72 Hour Hold was also written due to her experiences with her daughter Maia. Sweet Summer gives us a visual of her childhood, summers with her dad, growing up with her grandmother, mother and gay cousin. A true author gone too soon.” — Veronica Matthews “72 Hour Hold and Sometimes Mommy Gets Angry speak on mental illness in the black community. 72 Hour Hold was also written due to her experiences with her daughter Maia. And Sweet Summer gives us a visual of her childhood, summers with her dad, growing up with her grandmother, mother and gay cousin. “What You Owe Me” is my favorite. I like how they have commonalities, deception but old wounds are healed and the wrong is made right. A true author gone too soon.” — Veronica Matthews “72 Hour Hold informed me that a person could be held against their own person will for a psych evaluation and forced to take c class medications that they may not need - years later there was a case in NY where a woman was pulled over because of the type of car she was driving, she informed the police officers that is was her car, stated some well know person followed her on twitter - the police officers did not believe her they had her placed in a 72 hour hold.” — Milagros Mami “The first time I met her was when she had the signing for Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine. I remember being surprised at how petite she was, but how well she projected and captivated the audience. The last time I saw her was at the booksigning for her children’s book Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry. I remember her being very outspoken and passionate when it came to writing about and speaking out on male-female relationships, but also about race relationships. But when I attended that last signing, she had also become quite a spokesperson for dealing with mental disorders. She told us that she spoke from her experiences with a family member with bipolar disorder. I found her to be very nice and down-to-earth. And during the signings, she took time to speak directly to each individual and make them feel that she was genuinely appreciative of their support. Not just signing the book and “thank you”, but actually focusing on that person for just a moment. Very gracious lady.” — Edwina Putney