Letters to My Sisters

Women wish for other women to live the best lives possible, yet women do not always share their personal stories of womanhood. In fact, one of the greatest strengths of womanhood may reside in a woman's ability to protect young women from the pains of being a woman. In this calculated abyss of silence--a marked testament of resilience and strength--women remove an essential component of a young woman's grooming by preserving secrets. Assuming that other women don't understand is a faulty judgment that keeps women separated from one another, and from self, simply because women choose not to voice misfortunes. In assuming that too much sharing is harmful, ladies do not share in ways that will help the community overall.

Too often, women pass one another as if living different lives in different spaces. However, wisdom teaches that women largely live the same lives in different bodies. Women live through insecurity, depression, and being overlooked and misunderstood. Whether women share identical experiences or not, the goal of being loved, included, and supported is common among many. Sharing gender in a world that treats so many women the same means that women's experiences align even when their social context does not. Whether rich or poor, black or white, African or Asian, ladies share a connection that transcends demographics. By appreciating this value, women will finally behold the beauty of sharing sisterhood beyond racial, generational, and geographical bounds.

With Letters to My Sisters: Pain, Poise, Pride, and God's Promise, a group of 10 African-American women have written letters from their hearts that expose intimate life details that all women will be able to relate to in some way. As readers engage this material, the hope is that the sharing of these experiences provides a gateway for other women to do the same. No longer should women keep their herstory private. As women increasingly share with one another, they create a pattern that rewrites a tragic history of silence.

To reveal censored areas of their own womanhood, black female authors of diverse backgrounds confronted their deepest pains to release burdens they have held for far too long. With these letters, women commit to saying what they mean to say and healing in formally forbidden areas of life. The intent is that this grand release encourages all of our sisters to share and release as well.

Because this book sheds light on incidents that women have been silent about for a lifetime, the words of these pages create a foundation for ladies to embrace womanhood in new ways. These letters have been written from the heart. As such, they are meant to prick a woman's heart in ways that draw ladies to one another as they draw closer to themselves.

The mind-body-soul alignment offered within Letters to My Sisters discloses the hidden tragedies and triumphs of womanhood. Though the authors may never share the depths of their souls with the sisters who impacted them directly, releasing these heartfelt stories allows women all over the world to embrace their own impacts and begin living more fully.

As you read, you are encouraged to also write. Don't miss this opportunity to share your own letters. If you're up to it, send those letters to the sisters who deserve to hear your heart. God bless you.

forward! vii

introduction! 1

FROM PAIN TO PROSPERITY 3

What Is It That You Want? 5

You Made It 9

beYOUtiful 11

Young, Beautiful, and Barren 15

You Really Can't Dim My Light 17

To the Woman Who Needs to Forgive 19

Dear Prospering Sister 21

CHRONIC, YET I'M HEALED! 23

Chronic Pain, But I Am Healed! 25

Dear Doubting Sister 27

What Happened 31

Dear Bitter, Sweet Sister 33

Doctor Sister 35

OPEN WOUNDS THAT CUT ME DEEP 37

Sunflower in Libra 39

I Was Scared 41

I'm Angry! 45

To the Baddest Chicks 47

FAMILY TRAGEDIES 49

In the Living Room 51

Should Have Loved You More 53

Dear Niece 55

One Child I Left Behind 57

Untitled 59

Missing Father 61

SITUATIONS THAT LEFT ME UNDONE 65

I Never Wanted You 67

Little Girl Lost 71

Sister of Truth 73

Sis, That Was Foul 75

Doing This Dirty Laundry 77

THINGS I NEVER SAID 81

Things I Never Said 83

The Standard 1.0 85

Dear Sacrificial Sister 87

I Wish You Would Have Told Me About You 89

Deal With It OR It Will Deal with You 93

Why Not the Good? 97

Dear Munchkin 99

September 1st 101

NO PEACE 103

White Privilege 105

Choose Life 107

Daughter of a Black Sheep 109

Menopause 111

Sister, You Hate Me 113

We Will Be Okay 117

Unspoken 121

RECLAIMING WHAT WAS LOST 123

Dear Forgiven and Free 125

Get Back Up 127

Free to Love 129

You Are Not Alone! 133

YOU 135

Baby Girl, It's Time to Listen (to Yourself) 137

The Girl Misses Her Daddy 139

Sistah Mamas: I Wonder Why 141

Black Lesbian Loves 143

MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN 145

What Happened to Our Voice? 147

Understanding 149

Letter to My Mother 151

I Don't Resent You 153

The Rose of Sharon 155

Tears, for You 157

HEALING IN THE HOUSEHOLD 161

Sisters on the Run 163

Pride Over Relationship 165

I Am So Sorry, I Forgot 167

Women Who Hate Women 169

BEHOLD, I WILL DO A NEW THING (GOD-VERSATIONS) 173

Dear Determined Sister 175

Not What I Had Planned 177

When Has God Failed You? 181

No-Limits Sister 183

Is This Unto Death? 187

Hey Girl, Hey! 189

Behold My Sister 191

BLESSINGS IN THE STORM 193

Thank You After All 195

I Need You 197

Good. Girl. Friends. 199

I Call You Sister 201

Control 203

It's Almost Time! 205

Role Models 209

contributors! 211