Читать книгу Souls of My Young Sisters: - Dawn Marie Daniels - Страница 8

Young women encounter many daily struggles and obstacles similar to the women in our original book, Souls of My Sisters. Our next generation is filled with hopes and dreams, but they have extra baggage from dealing with many different issues, from drug-addicted parents to the pain of never knowing their fathers, to being stalked and subjugated on the Internet. Some of the women expressed fears that they wouldn’t be able to attain their dreams, and others were concerned that the hue of their skin could get in the way of living a fulfilling life. As these brave women who are searching for self, exerting the power of choice, and dealing with the difficulties with the first woman in their lives—Mom—family, career, sexuality, intimate relationships, money, self-esteem, body-and self-image, friendships, faith, health, and death, through their struggles and pain, their perseverance shines through.

Young women are inundated with advice, some of which you know simply just does not make sense. We’ve all heard “a bird in the hand beats two in the bush” and “don’t count your chickens until they are hatched.” These are great phrases, but what can be even more valuable than old-time sayings are women telling you the truth, not worried about being judged, but giving you their honest perspective of their own life experiences.

When you are confronted with decisions that you know will change the course of your life, you are worried sick and you are constantly told to search inside yourself because the answer is within. It may be, but not today, and how can you search if you are not even certain of who you are?

We are all pieces of the love, pain, emotions, responsibilities, fears, scars, and lessons of those who did and did not raise us. Sometimes the pain was unbearable, and as a result you decided to raise yourself. Others found out terrible secrets. My mother is really my aunt, I am adopted, and My father is not my father, who is my father? Your father was a one-night stand? It’s at the funerals that all the family drama unfolds—the new siblings that you never knew you had. The secrets that the family kept from you because of a desire to protect themselves have left you feeling betrayed.

Some of you were molested, beaten, or witnessed your mother being beaten, your sister being murdered, gun violence in the streets, family members succumbing to drugs, having a mother who is only fifteen years older than you and is hanging out at clubs with you, and the world still wants you to be happy.

Some of you succeeded regardless of the pressure to please your family. You stifled your dreams, pushed forward to be the very best woman you could be, and yet your family is never happy. You can do more. Why aren’t you married? He’s not good enough. Some of you pursued professional degrees, and after all that work, you were urged to hurry up and get married before you succeeded or else you would never find a husband. So you struggle through medical school, dental school, and law school hoping this brother will stick around when your practice takes off.

The whole thing can be a small mess—it’s having the babies at a young age because you wanted someone to love, it is the tearing down of your friends because you were afraid they would succeed. It is the career situations where professional women were sabotaged. It is the sitting in a dark hole and asking, “How did I get here?”

Candace and I have endured a different set of questions and personal battles, and this is why we started the Souls of My Sisters series. In this volume, we go to the icons of Black America who have endured some of the same situations. What makes them different? Was there a special recipe that only they concocted for success? In these pages these icons of entertainment are asked, “If you knew then what you know now, would you have made different choices?” These women reflect and share their personal advice, personal stories, and challenges so that young women like yourselves can utilize the information as part of their personal journey.

Souls of My Young Sisters is a book that you can relate to, but also a book that can help your parents better understand the issues you may be dealing with in a day and age far different from the one they grew up in. It is our hope that Souls of My Young Sisters will be your quintessential guide to eliminating baggage before your life’s journey truly begins.