Being sentenced to a life sentence I quickly realized meant being sentenced to a life of dehumanization. Where on a daily basis I struggle with the sanity that fights to stay alive. I fight to feel human; worthy of respect. A fight to remember my own name.

Through all the pain of being told “I’m less than,” there’s a life deserving of recognition. A daughter, a sister, a mother, and a grandmother that a special someone is missing.

So instead of allowing this person to steal my identity, I found the courage to seek for my self-worth. And instead of being shackled to my life sentence, I’ve created my own paradise! I want the world to know I’m a woman of God, redeemed and equipped with words of Life, clothed in strength, dignity, forgiven and unbound.

Here and now, I “LIVE” in my own paradise!