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Loving, Caring, and Healing Yourself: Restoring Your Eternal Frequency

Loving, Caring, and Healing Yourself, by Isaiah A. Tisdale, is a gentle self-love guide built around six spiritual practices: intention, acceptance, care, affirmation, solace, and authenticity. Tisdale frames healing as a return to the true self, not a reinvention, and he keeps circling back to the same central idea: love is something we practice inwardly until it changes how we move through the world. The book blends reflection, affirmations, journaling prompts, breathwork, morning routines, self-care rituals, music, movement, solitude, prayer, and sensory awareness into a warm invitation to treat the mind, body, and spirit as one living, tender whole.

Tisdale writes from a place that feels deeply personal, especially when he talks about his Sunday self-care routine, leaving his phone alone in the morning, buying himself flowers, writing monthly love letters to himself, and using prayer throughout the day as a grounding practice. Those details give the book a lived-in texture. I believed him most when he moved away from abstract language and let me see the shape of his actual life. There’s something quietly moving about the way he insists that care isn’t selfish, that rest is not an indulgence, and that the love we pour into ourselves can become steadier love for others. I also appreciated how often he returns to childhood conditioning, ego, trauma, and shame without making the reader feel broken. His best idea, to me, is that self-acceptance and self-improvement don’t have to fight each other. That felt emotionally honest and useful.

The writing has a rhythmic, meditative quality, almost like a long spiritual breathing exercise. That repetition creates comfort. Phrases about light, frequency, the Universe, wholeness, and unconditional love build a kind of devotional atmosphere, and I can see readers finding real peace in that cadence. The strongest sections are the most concrete ones: the morning routine with qi gong and gratitude, the sticky note exercise for rewriting harsh body-talk, the chapter on solace with its emphasis on silence and heart wisdom, and the authenticity chapter’s invitation to speak aloud to yourself and rewrite your values and beliefs. Those moments make the ideas breathe. They turn self-love from a beautiful phrase into something with hands, time, texture, and daily effort.

By the end, I felt like Loving, Caring, and Healing Yourself was less a conventional self-help book than a soft-spoken companion for someone trying to come back to themselves after years of overextending, performing, or shrinking. It’s earnest and spiritually framed, but it’s also generous, calming, and genuinely rooted in care. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy reflective, affirmation-centered books about self-love, especially those drawn to spirituality, journaling, intentional routines, and holistic healing practices. It would be especially good for someone who needs permission to rest, set boundaries, and begin treating their own life as something sacred.

Pages: 79 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09MRPR5JJ

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The Ultimate Soul’s Purpose

Mary Ellen Connett MacDonald, MS Author Interview

Hydrangeas From Dad follows you through the devastating loss of your father and the mysterious hydrangea text he sent from beyond, opening into a courageous memoir of grief, soul, family, and spiritual healing. Why was this an important book for you to write?

First of all, I admired my dad for the man he became in the last 25 years of his life. Once he retired and no longer had to fully provide for 5 kids, a wife, and his mother, he became a real father to me. And I was gradually able to let him in after spending my childhood feeling detached from him. During retirement, Dad visited me several times a year, called frequently, and moved to FL, and was closer, so I could visit him. We finally had a relationship.

Secondly, I thought the way he lived his life was authentic, courageous, and full of gusto, and he encouraged me to live the same way. I told him when he was dying that I would write a book about him and his life, and I was committed to that promise.

And, the third reason was that his message to me from the afterlife was so powerful and life-changing that I knew I needed to share the story with others. My desire was to help others who had also lost a loved one, maybe a parent, to know with certainty that our soul relationships continue after the body is gone. I found that awareness to be so comforting during the early months and ongoing years of grieving that Dad was no longer physically with us. I trusted that others could find comfort in this story, too. And his message to me ignited the fire of complete authenticity in me to live my life fully and honestly! I wanted to share that message too, knowing that physical life as we experience it is short, but HOW we live prepares us for the possibility of a glorious afterlife.

What was the first thing you felt when you saw the text from your father’s phone with the photo of blue hydrangeas?

I was honestly shocked! I think my heart stopped beating, and I lost my breath for a moment. But my mind couldn’t process this, and I tried desperately to find another explanation other than this was Dad reaching out to me right after a man on television talked about how important it was to call your parents while they were still alive. I was trying to digest all of that. It was more of an emotional experience than it was anything cognitive. It was tumultuous! My gut was in knots. I stared at the screen in disbelief. And after a few moments, I convinced myself that my sister had planted a flower bush in Dad’s yard and used his phone to send me a picture of it. I needed to believe in that to get through the night and let my gut and heart settle down.

How did writing about your father’s final days change your relationship to those memories?

I commented to my siblings that they lived through my dad’s dying and moved on; and, I lived it off and on for 10 years, the length of time it took me to finish the manuscript. Writing about those 5 days of my dad’s dying kept me anchored in the experience of dying. It also helped me appreciate living even more because I now knew what it was like to have a loved one leave this physical world and their physical body. I became more intimately attached to death and dying and re-writing the definitions of this for myself. And, through this awareness, I knew that preparing oneself for the afterlife by HOW we lived in THIS life was the ultimate soul’s purpose.

Were there parts of your spiritual journey that you felt afraid or hesitant to share so openly?

After serious reflection on this question, I would have to say the part of my spiritual journey that I had hesitation or fear to share openly was about my venture into the world of shamanism. Not because of my own trepidation, but because I feared being judged harshly and my book being discredited because of that.

I live in the Bible Belt of the US. People are predominantly Christian, and fundamentally so. I consider myself a Christian, but open to receiving influence from many other religions as a spiritual seeker. Shamanism would be seen as a pagan practice by many. But I had to push through this fear of rejection and dismissal because my spiritual journey, prompted by my Dad’s text message from the afterlife, was and still is about being my TRUE self!

Now, I welcome questions from anyone. I love the opportunity to better explain how studying shamanism and the powerful rituals as they were taught by Don Oscar Miro Quesada, taught me how to fully and completely love! My heart was blocked by layers of anger, disappointment, and despair for most of my life. The practice of Anyi, “sacred reciprocity,” and the initiations and blessings received from don Oscar and the Universal Shamanism community removed the barriers I didn’t even know I had. Somehow, I was set
free, became lighter, more positive, and loving; and this has been a treasured gift.


Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Mary Ellen McDonald | Mary Ellen Connett McDonald | Connett Therapy and Coaching | EquiHeart | Website | Fierce Feminine Fire | EquiHeart Guided Horsemanship | Amazon

Her dad’s death shattered her world. But when marriage therapist Mary Ellen Connett MacDonald received a shocking text message from him a month later, her grief turned to courage, and her life changed forever. Connett MacDonald’s inspirational story is a beacon of light and hope for anyone on their own transformational soul journey, awaiting or grieving the death of a parent or other loved one. Despite the dreaded, inevitable loss, there can be a loving and surprising gift we receive from our deceased loved ones – the assurance that their soul lives on and our relationships continue. With this gift, we can: heal and thrive from loss; learn to passionately and creatively embrace the presence of soul in everyday life; and honor our own soul’s true calling.

If you are:
– Wrestling with the mysteries of life and death
– Questioning why we love, even when loss seems inevitable
– Anticipating or grieving the passing of a parent or other cherished soul
– Feeling lost, displaced, or hollow after such a profound absence
– Living in the shadows instead of embracing your deepest truths and longings

Then this book is here for you-a companion for your soul’s journey to:
– Ease the sorrow of losing those you love, and bring gentle healing to your heart
– Affirm the eternal nature of your soul and the souls of those who have passed
– Understand that death cannot sever the bonds of love you share
– Live fully in alignment with your soul’s deepest purpose
– Cultivate spiritual practices that nurture and sustain your soul
– Move toward the highest state of fulfillment-union with God, Source, or Great Spirit

May this journey light your path, opening your heart to healing, connection, and the limitless presence of your soul in every moment of your life.

Sharing Hope

Kaysia Monica Earley Author Interview

In Houses Built by Faith, you share the hardships and intense faith that shaped your early years and paved the way for a life of advocacy. Why was this an important book for you to write?

It was important for me to write this book because of what I witnessed in my work as an advocate/criminal defense attorney for those accused of crimes. I often meet clients at one of the most difficult moments of their lives, while they are incarcerated and enduring the heavy weight of the presumption of guilt. During those moments, I’d sometimes share my own story of past incarceration and the journey that eventually led me to become an attorney.

I’ve seen firsthand how my story changed the atmosphere. Clients who felt defeated suddenly found a reason to believe. After their cases were dismissed or they were vindicated and found not guilty, many of them told me that hearing my story gave them hope while they were behind bars. They saw that someone who once sat where they were sitting could still rise, rebuild, and serve others.

Those conversations made me realize, if my story could bring hope to people inside prison walls, it could also inspire people outside of them. This book is my way of sharing that hope with a broader audience. It’s a reminder that even in the darkest seasons of life, faith, perseverance, and purpose can build something new.

At what point did you realize that the three-house framework was the key to telling your story?

I realized that the three-house framework was the key to telling my story during a speaking engagement where I was sharing my life journey. After I finished speaking, a woman from the audience approached me and said something that immediately stayed with me. She told me that my life took place in “three houses”.

In that moment, everything clicked. I recognized that the stages of my life truly could be understood through those houses, each representing a different season of growth, challenge, faith, and transformation. It was not something I had originally planned, but when she said it, I knew she had captured something profound about my story.

From that moment forward, the three-house framework became the natural way to tell my journey. It fit perfectly, and I do not believe that was a coincidence. In many ways, it revealed that life is a series of places where we grow, rebuild, and rediscover who we are meant to be. I believe there are still more houses ahead of me, new seasons and new chapters waiting on the horizon.

I appreciated the candid nature with which you tell your story. What was the most difficult thing for you to write about?

The most difficult part of writing this book was exposing myself in a very visible and vulnerable way by revealing my mug shot. Looking at that photograph years later was an emotional experience. When I study my eyes in that image today, I can see a woman who was lost, uncertain, ashamed, and deeply distraught.

Seeing that photo again brought back memories that were not easy to revisit. It reminded me of a painful season in my life, one that did not feel good to relive. Yet, I also recognized that the photograph tells an honest part of my story.

today I can look at that image from a different perspective. Instead of only seeing the pain, I see the evidence of how far I have come. That moment did not define the end of my life. It was a chapter in a much larger story of perseverance, faith, and transformation. Including it in the book was difficult, but it was necessary because it reflects the truth of the journey.

What advice would you give to someone considering sharing their own memoir with readers?

My advice to anyone considering sharing their memoir is to be completely transparent. Authenticity resonates with readers because people can sense when a story is coming from the heart. When something is written from the heart, it has the power to reach the heart.

Do not be afraid to share the difficult parts of your journey. Those moments of struggle are often the very places where readers find connection and encouragement. We all endure hardships, and many people are searching for stories that remind them they are not alone.

At the same time, a memoir should not only tell the story of what happened. It should also give the reader hope for a better tomorrow. When readers close the book, they should feel strengthened by the journey you shared. They should walk away with the belief that whatever they are facing, they too can overcome and build something meaningful from their experiences.

Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Four months pregnant, locked in solitary confinement, and drowning in despair, Kaysia lost all hope, until Heaven invaded her cell. During that sacred moment, God unveiled a divine revelation with one command: Faith. What began as a supernatural encounter became the blueprint for her destiny.

Houses Built by Faith: Jailhouse. God’s House. Courthouse. is a powerful, faith-filled journey through places most people fear, but where God does His greatest work. Written by attorney Kaysia Monica Earley, Esq., her extraordinary journey unfolds across three pivotal “houses” that shape a life under pressure:The Jailhouse — where fear, consequences, and uncertainty collide
God’s House — where faith was rebuilt, purpose was restored, and hope was renewed
The Courthouse — where justice, truth, and redemption intersect, and destiny was fulfilled
Through personal insight, spiritual reflection, and real-world experience inside the criminal justice system, Houses Built by Faith reveals how God meets us in our lowest moments and transforms trials into testimony.
This book is for anyone who:Is walking through a legal battle, incarceration, or personal crisis
Feels overwhelmed by consequences but still believes God has a plan
Needs encouragement that their situation is not their sentence
Wants proof that faith can stand firm, even in jail cells and courtrooms
Rooted in Scripture and lived experiences, Houses Built by Faith reminds readers that every house we pass through can still be built on faith, and that God’s purpose is never delayed by man’s process. Once an incarcerated defendant, she rose to become a defender of justice. Houses Built by Faith is a powerful testament, when faith lays the foundation, redemption is inevitable. More than a memoir, Houses Built by Faith is a movement detailing how to break every barrier, heal from within, and activate the transformative power of faith.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kaysia Earley is a devoted Christian, nationally recognized attorney, journalist, legal analyst, author, and founder of Earley Law Firm. She defends the accused with a powerful perspective from both sides of the legal system. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Howard University and her Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law. Kaysia has tried over 100 cases to verdict and earned numerous distinguished legal honors.

Guided by Luke 12:48, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required,” Kaysia mentors young women pursuing law and leads a jail ministry that brings hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ in monthly sermons.

She resides in Florida with her husband of more than twenty years, David, and their four children, carrying her faith into every role as wife, mother, attorney, and servant of Christ

Creating A Safe Space

Dr. Ovedia Rhoulhac Author Interview

Sista, Can You Feel a Brother’s Pain? is a compassionate, faith-centered exploration of the silent wounds men carry, revealing how childhood trauma shapes identity, relationships, and faith, while offering a biblical path toward healing, accountability, and restoration. 

The phrase “Men hurt. Men hide. Men hope.” feels central. What do you think most people misunderstand about men’s emotional lives?

I believe one of the greatest misunderstandings about men’s emotional lives is the assumption that silence means absence of feeling. Many people interpret a man’s quietness as strength, indifference, or emotional unavailability, when in reality it is often protection learned behavior shaped by expectation, culture, and survival.

Men are often taught early that vulnerability is risky. So instead of expressing pain openly, they internalize it. They carry disappointment, fear, rejection, and pressure privately, believing their role is to endure rather than reveal. When men hide, it is rarely because they do not feel it is because they feel deeply and may not feel safe enough to express it.

The phrase “Men hurt. Men hide. Men hope.” captures a truth that is often overlooked: beneath guarded emotions is hope. The hope to be understood without judgment, respected without performance, and loved without conditions tied to strength alone.

What many misunderstand is that men are not emotionless; they are often emotionally unpracticed in environments that welcome honesty. When given permission to be human instead of merely strong, many men show remarkable depth, tenderness, and resilience.

Understanding men emotionally begins not by asking them to feel more, but by creating spaces where they no longer have to hide what they already feel.

Were there particular stories or patterns that stayed with you?

Yes, many stories stayed with me over the years they are, in fact, what prompted me to write the book. While the circumstances differed, the patterns were often the same. The actions that caused the trauma were similar, even though the faces of the victims changed. And in many cases, the outcomes were heartbreakingly alike.

Many men carried unspoken pain, living under the pressure to appear strong while quietly struggling within. Their hurt often revealed itself not through words, but through distance, anger, overworking, or withdrawal rather than open conversation. Beneath those behaviors, however, was a deep desire to be seen, respected, and truly understood.

One pattern I noticed repeatedly was silence not because men lacked words, but because they lacked safe spaces to speak them. Creating an environment where men felt heard and valued made all the difference. That safe space is exactly what the MITE (Men in Transformation Education) Program provided: a place where men could begin to release what they had long carried in silence and start the journey toward healing and transformation.

How can women better support the men in their lives after reading it?

Understand the power of being present without pressure; love him without trying to manage the process. Here are 5 ways women can walk alongside a man in silence and still genuinely support him, with wisdom, compassion, and strength.

1. Offer Presence, Not Pressure – recognize that sometimes the most healing words are unspoken.

  • Sit with him.
  • Stay emotionally available.
  • Let him know you’re there without asking him to perform vulnerability.

Biblical wisdom:

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted…” Psalm 34:18

Support looks like: “You don’t have to talk for me to stay.”

2. Create Safety Through Consistency – His silence is rooted in pain and he’s waiting to see if your love is temporary.

  • Be steady, not reactive.
  • Don’t withdraw just because he’s quiet.
  • Let your consistency preach louder than questions.

Biblical wisdom:

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” — 1 Corinthians 13:7

Safety says: “I’m not leaving because this is uncomfortable.”

3. Affirm His Worth Without Demanding Disclosure – Many men fear being seen as “less than” if they speak.

  • Speak life into who he is not what he shares.
  • Affirm his strength, character, and value apart from his story.

Biblical wisdom:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Proverbs 18:21

Support sounds like: “You matter even in your quietness.”

4. Respect His Timing While Holding Healthy Boundaries Walking alongside doesn’t mean disappearing yourself.

  • You can honor his silence and still be honest about your needs. “Me Time” some say self care is important for you
  • Support does not require self-neglect.

Biblical wisdom:

“To everything there is a season” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Wisdom balance: Compassion without self-abandonment.

5. Cover Him in Prayer, Not Control – Prayer reaches places conversation cannot.

  • Pray for healing, not forced revelation.
  • Ask God to do what only God can do.

Biblical wisdom:

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Spiritual support says: “God is working even when I can’t see it.”

Pearls of Wisdom for Women supporting or walking along with someone in silence is not passive, it’s active trust.

But remember: You are a companion, not a counselor; a supporter, not a savior.

And for men: Be Silent No More. Silence may have kept you alive but love, safety, and God’s grace can lead you toward healing. Give yourself permission to be healed.

This powerful, faith-centered book speaks to the silent wounds carried by men and those who love them, addressing emotional, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse through the lens of biblical truth and compassionate understanding. With honesty and spiritual authority, the author reveals how trauma can shape behavior without defining identity or destiny. Each chapter invites readers to confront pain, break cycles of silence, and reclaim God-given worth through healing, accountability, and grace. Rooted in Scripture and lived ministry experience, this book offers both clarity and hope affirming that while abuse may have marked the past, it does not determine the future. In Christ, restoration is possible, purpose can be renewed, and what was broken can be made whole

Sista, Can You Feel A Brother’s Pain?

Sista, Can You Feel a Brother’s Pain? is a deeply compassionate and spiritually grounded exploration of the hidden wounds many men carry from childhood into adulthood. The book weaves Scripture, lived experience, and the author’s years of ministry with incarcerated men into a guide that explains how unhealed trauma shapes identity, relationships, faith, and emotional expression. The heart of the message is clear and powerful. Men hurt. Men hide. Men hope. The chapters walk through silence, shame, verbal wounds, abandonment, generational cycles, and the long reach of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. At the center of it all is God’s restorative love and the author’s call for understanding, accountability, and healing.

I kept pausing while reading because the writing lands with a kind of emotional weight that really resonated with me. The tone is warm and firm at the same time. I appreciated the way she confronts harsh truths without making the reader feel attacked. I found myself thinking about how many men really do move through life with silence wrapped around their pain like armor. The emotional rawness, the stories of boys treated like grown men, the confusion, the shame, the longing for safety. All of it stirred something in me. The simplicity of the language actually made the message sharper. Nothing felt dressed up. Nothing felt distant. It felt like someone sitting across from me telling the truth that everybody knows, but nobody says.

The chapters on emotional and verbal abuse spoke to me personally. The idea that a man can be well built on the outside but crushed on the inside felt painfully accurate. The writing made me think about how often we misinterpret withdrawal as arrogance or indifference. There is a lot of grace in these pages. A lot of patience. A lot of spiritual encouragement. At the same time, the author does not excuse harmful behavior. She keeps accountability right there on the table. I like that balance. It made the message feel honest. The prayers and reflection questions added a gentle rhythm that slowed me down and made me sit with what I had just read. I noticed how often the book circles back to hope. Even in the darkest chapters, there is this steady reminder that God sees what happened, knows what still hurts, and invites healing anyway.

I walked away moved and encouraged. I would recommend this book to women who want to understand the emotional landscape of the men in their lives, to men who are tired of pretending they are fine, and to anyone involved in pastoral care, counseling, or community leadership. It is also a meaningful read for people who simply want to love better and communicate with more understanding. The book feels like a bridge between worlds that rarely speak to each other. It shines a light on wounds that deserve attention, compassion, and truth so real healing can begin.

Pages: 78 | ASIN : B0GMLN6NJ3

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Clarity, Self-Trust, and Intention

Laura Muirhead Author Interview

Queen Code is part-memoir, part-mindset guide that uses powerful archetypes and lived experience to help women stop playing the victim, rewrite inherited stories, and rule their own lives with clarity, courage, and self-trust. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I wrote Queen Code: The Book to help readers recognize the stories that are already playing out in their lives, often without them realizing it. The archetypes make those patterns relatable. When you can see the role you’re stepping into, you can also see that the story isn’t fixed. Your perspective can change, your response can change, and the outcome can change, too.

That’s where personal policies become essential. They give you something steady to come back to when emotions run high or old patterns try to take over. Through Queen Code: The Book and my signature Queen Code Mastery™ program, I offer people a way to move from reacting to leading themselves, with clarity, self-trust, and intention. When you understand the story you’re in and have personal policies to guide you, you stop feeling at the mercy of circumstances and start choosing how you show up. That’s where real change begins.

The idea of “personal policies” stood out to me. How did that framework emerge for you, and how has it changed the way you handle conflict or drama in your own life?

The idea of “personal policies” was born from a conversation about business policies. Companies, stores, and banks have standard policies that their customers and/or employees adhere to, so why shouldn’t people also have policies to guide them? From there, my signature Queen Code Mastery™ program was created along with the Queen Code Oracle Card Deck, and of course, this book.

What I realized while creating Queen Code Mastery™ and writing Queen Code: The Book is that I’ve been using personal policies my entire life to navigate challenges and avoid unnecessary drama — not always perfectly, but consistently enough for them to evolve into what they are today.

The archetypes feel playful but also true. Did any of them surprise you or evolve as you were writing the book?

There was a bit of both. In some cases, the story led to the archetype, and in others, the archetype fit the story I was telling. The stories came from my own lived experience and from what I’ve observed in the lives of people around me. As I was writing, a few of the archetypes surprised me and took shape in ways I didn’t expect. They’re playful, yes, but they’re also honest. They reflect how we actually move through life, stepping into different parts of ourselves depending on the season we’re in.

If a reader could embody just one of your principles for the next year, which would you hope it is?

If a reader embodied The Sovereign for the next year, they would be choosing self-leadership and personal responsibility — the starting point and the foundation everything else is built on. Leading yourself first is both a radical choice and freeing. When you stop getting pulled into drama and live by your personal policies, everything shifts. Self-leadership isn’t about perfection, but it requires honesty and consistency. When you stop abandoning yourself in the little things, clarity starts to show up. Relationships improve, decisions come easier, and life feels more peaceful.

Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon

Unlock the Queen within. Queen Code: The Book is a guide for every woman ready to reclaim her sovereignty, rewrite her story, and step fully into her power. Through timeless archetypes: from the Sovereign and the Warrior Queen to the Oracle and the Weaver, this book offers wisdom, courage, and clarity for navigating fear, boundaries, legacy, and abundance. With each chapter, you’ll discover how to transform inherited patterns, embrace resilience, and create a life aligned with your highest vision. The Queen Code is not just philosophy, it is a living framework for authentic leadership, unshakable self-worth, and unapologetic freedom.



Houses Built by Faith- Jailhouse. God’s House. Courthouse.

Houses Built by Faith is a redemption memoir that follows author Kaysia M. Earley from a noisy Bronx childhood to Florida, through her father’s abandonment, deep poverty, a jail sentence while four months pregnant, and then into a life as a criminal defense attorney and jail minister who walks back into the same courtroom that once sentenced her, this time as counsel. The story is built around three “houses” in her life, the Jailhouse, God’s House, and the Courthouse, and each section shows how faith reshapes her identity, heals family wounds, and eventually turns her into an advocate for people who stand where she once stood. The book moves from family history and cultural roots, to the shock of incarceration and a supernatural encounter with God in solitary confinement, then into years of slow rebuilding through church, education, bar hearings, and work with incarcerated clients, ending with a practical “blueprint” that invites readers to apply those lessons to their own lives.

The voice is vivid and very cinematic. The childhood chapters in New York and Jamaica felt alive to me, full of smells, sounds, and small details that made the settings stick in my mind. The courtroom framing at the start, with Faith on trial and the reader cast as the jury, is a clever hook, and it sets the tone for the mix of legal language and spiritual language that runs through the book. The style leans more into preaching than storytelling, with scripture woven through almost every chapter and direct exhortations to the reader, yet it still feels honest rather than polished for show. I could feel her background as both a trial lawyer and a church speaker in the rhythm of the sentences, the repetition, the build, the way key lines land like closing arguments. The prose is clear and accessible, and even when it gets intense, it stays easy to follow, like listening to someone talk to you across the table, not reading a legal brief.

Emotionally, the book hit me hardest in the jailhouse and courthouse sections. Her description of solitary confinement, pregnant, stripped of everything, and then experiencing what she understands as God entering that cell, carries a weight that stayed with me long after I finished the chapter. The later scenes with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and her son’s simple letter about how “Mommy changed” pulled me in too, because they show how redemption has to be proven in ordinary, slow, sometimes humiliating ways, not only in dramatic encounters. I appreciated that she does not pretend the system is kind or fair, yet she also refuses to let her story become only a complaint about injustice. The strongest idea in the book, for me, is how she treats her legal career as a pulpit inside the jail and courtroom, a calling more than a job, planting “spiritual wisdom” in letters to clients and then seeing that seed grow over time. Even when I wished she lingered more on systemic analysis, I respected the way she kept bringing the focus back to responsibility, mercy, and service.

The house metaphor, with God as master architect who repurposes every crack and fracture, gives the memoir a strong spine and makes the closing “blueprint” section feel earned. For readers who come from Christian or church backgrounds, though, especially Black women who know the mix of cultural pride, family fracture, and spiritual resilience that she describes, the tone will feel like home. I also think law students, public defenders, and anyone who works in criminal justice can get a lot from her reflections on how her own incarceration shapes the way she now stands beside her clients.

I would recommend Houses Built by Faith to readers who want a spiritually grounded, emotionally honest story of failure, resilience, and calling, not a detached legal memoir or a sociological study. It will speak most strongly to Christians, to women navigating family wounds and single parenthood, to people who have touched the criminal justice system in any way, and to those who are trying to make sense of their own “houses” in life and wonder if God still has a plan for them. For that audience, I think this book will feel like sitting in church and in court at the same time, and will leave them encouraged, a little undone, and more willing to believe that broken foundations can still be rebuilt.

Pages: 229 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0G38PDLTD

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Pause, Reflect, and Reconnect

Sheryl Brown Author Interview

In Weeds to Wishes, you share your own journey as an educator and the valuable lessons you learned through listening, encouraging others, and even hardships. Why was this an important book for you to write?

Weeds to Wishes was an important book for me to write because it grew out of a deep desire to help others through the lessons I’ve learned along my own journey. There were times in my life when everything felt very heavy. 

I felt like I had accumulated so many “weeds” throughout life… the expectations, noise, pressure, and self-doubt, that I had lost touch with who I truly was. I wasn’t allowing myself the quiet moments I needed to pause, reflect, and reconnect with myself. Writing became therapeutic for me, allowing me to release what no longer served me. It allowed me time to shut out the noise, sit with my thoughts, and dig deep within my soul.

Through writing, I learned that I needed to release the “junk” that was weighing me down in order to make room for the treasures and a new beginning. Weeds to Wishes became a way for me to shed, heal, and trust God’s plan and purpose for my life. My hope is to share this with others who may feel the need to do the same.

I appreciated the candid nature with which you share your story. What was the most difficult thing for you to write about? 

Thank you. The most difficult thing for me to write about was losing my father and how his death changed my life in so many ways I never expected. I wasn’t ready, but truthfully, I don’t think anyone ever is. He was the glue that held our family together and the strong presence in my life that I leaned on.

Writing about his loss required me to sit with grief that I had often pushed aside in order to keep moving forward, especially since I didn’t know how to deal with it for many years. It forced me to acknowledge how his absence shaped the way I lead, treat others, love, and carry responsibility. Including that part of my story felt vulnerable, but it was necessary for me to move on and become the woman my father would be so proud of. Sharing it was both painful and healing, and it reminded me that some of our greatest growth comes from our hardest moments… our weeds.

Did you learn anything about yourself while writing Weeds to Wishes

While writing Weeds To Wishes, I learned that I can do anything I set my mind to, even during the tough times. I learned that I needed the tough times (the weeds) to help strengthen me and create the person I was always intended to be. Without the “tough stuff,” I couldn’t have written the book and, in turn, couldn’t help others along the way.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experiences?

I hope readers take away that showing up and truly listening matter more than having all the answers. Some of the most meaningful growth in my life came from the hardest moments,  the ones I never would have chosen, but that shaped me and strengthened me. I want readers to see that even in the tough times, something good can come from it (a blessing in disguise) when we stay open, present, and willing to learn. In the end, it really does come down to mindset and choosing to see challenges not as endings, but as opportunities for growth and purpose.

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Weeds to Wishes: Blossoming Into the Leader You Were Meant to Be

Have you ever felt that quiet tug — the one that whispers, “You’re meant for more” — yet doubt and fear keep you from stepping forward?

Leadership can feel exhilarating… and absolutely terrifying all at once.
Maybe you’re stepping into leadership for the first time and wondering if you’re really ready.
Maybe you’ve been leading for years but feel tired, unseen, or unsure if you can keep going.
Maybe you’re asking yourself, “Can I really make a difference?”
You’re not alone.

In Weeds to Wishes, author and educator Sheryl Brown opens her heart and her 34-year leadership journey — sharing raw, honest stories of courage, missteps, and growth. Through laughter, tears, and lessons learned, she shows you how to turn life’s weeds — the struggles, doubts, and hard seasons — into wishes that bloom into strength, confidence, and purpose.

Part memoir, part how-to guide, this book offers eight keys to becoming the leader you were meant to be, paired with reflective activities and quick reference points to guide you through your own leadership journey.

You’ll discover:
How to rise from burnout with renewed purpose
How to find your voice, even when it trembles
How to transform obstacles into opportunities
And how to lead with heart, courage, and resilience
Because your challenges become your victories.
Your lessons become your strength.
And your courage? It’s just fear with the bravery to keep going.
It’s time to take the leap — to stand tall, rooted and radiant — and finally become the leader you were always meant to be.
Buy the book now!