Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine January 2018 New Year, New You | Page 55

me to cover artist Baron Steward, and guided
me through all aspects of publishing under
my own company, Sunrise Consulting. July
21, 2010 my Liberian experiences came full
circle when two members of the AKA sorority,
responded to my wish to present a copy of
Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot
to their sorority sister, Africa’s first female
president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, then President
of Liberia. They blessed me with transportation
and tickets to the AKA Boule in St. Louis. Once
inside, I was able to hustle myself into a private
audience between the president and members
of a St. Louis Liberian delegation. In those few
unforgettable moments I reminded Madame
Sirleaf of our initial meeting more than twenty
years earlier in Liberia; presented her an
autographed copy of my Liberian memoir, and
got her to personalize my treasured copy of her
2009 autobiography, This Child Will be Great.
That year, Sweet Liberia, Lessons from
the Coal Pot, won the 2009-2010 Black
Excellence Award from the African American
Arts Alliance of Chicago for Outstanding
Achieving in Literature-Non-Fiction and in
2011, received an award in the Illinois Women’s
Press Association’s Mate E. Palmer Non-Fiction
Contest.
I had been terrified of hip replacement
surgery, but even more afraid of allowing pain
to limit my life and steal my dream. I’ve come
to realize that fear is often standing squarely in
front of a door one needs to pry, or sometimes
kick, open. We all fear something. Our work
is to acknowledge the fear and find a way to
break free.
Susan D. Peters authored Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot, her award winning
memoir. Broken Dolls is the first of the Detective Joi Sommers mystery series and her
most recent book, Stolen Rainbow centers on a beautiful marine captain’s recovery
after a devastating combat injury. Susan is a monthly contributor for Garden Spices
online magazine and is currently working on her next novel. www.susandpeters.com
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