The journey to parenthood is different for everyone, but the struggles of pregnancy, childbirth and the first year of a baby’s life are almost universal. As parents (or future parents), we are constantly fed a myth that being a Mommy or Daddy is a wonderful, amazing and completely fulfilling experience. We are expected to raise our children effortlessly, love every minute of being a parent and post the pictures on social media to prove it. We feel guilty if we do not like a certain aspect of this experience and we are shamed if someone doesn’t agree with our decisions. Parents, it is time to stop the insanity. Creating, growing, birthing and raising a child is really hard! I know this because I am a Mom of two strong-willed children and a pediatrician with over a decade of experience in the medical field. I understand that you are inundated with information from family members, friends, and the media who all tell you what you should do, and what you should not do, for yourself and for your child. This information is often conflicting and confusing. You know what? I Got You, Mama. Take a deep breath and hang with me. This book is a no holds barred approach with information that is real, raw, and sometimes gross! But... I promise it will help you to unapologetically thrive as a parent.

Sometimes yucky-day-havin' mamas get lucky enough to find the perfect addition to their life when they least expect it. Join Mama as she makes her way through this real-life inspired journey that starts with a bad day-but doesn't stay that way for long. When Mama finds the courage to peek under a noisy lumpy blanket, she finds a reason to forget about her bad day and enjoy happier days than she's ever known. I Got You is a book about the instant love between a mother and child that just might broaden the brush used to paint the picture of what the miracle of motherhood can look like. This sweet mommy-and-me story incorporates a silly song, beautiful illustrations, and a deep, meaningful message that is sure to connect with readers of any age.

“A funny, fresh novel about growing up African-American in 1960s Chicago” by an author who “writes like Terry McMillan’s kid sister” (Entertainment Weekly). In this hilarious and insightful coming-of-age novel, author April Sinclair introduces the charming Jean “Stevie” Stevenson, a young woman raised on Chicago’s South Side during an era of irrevocable social upheaval. Curious and witty, bold but naïve, Stevie grows up debating the qualities of good hair and dark skin. As the years pass, her family and neighborhood are changed by the times, from the War on Poverty to race riots and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., from “Black Is Beautiful” to Black Power. Against this remarkable backdrop, Stevie makes the sometimes harrowing, often comic, always enthralling transformation into a young adult—socially aware, discovering her sexuality, and proud of her identity. “Whether she’s dealing with a subject as monumental as the civil rights movement or as intimate as Stevie’s first sexual encounters,” writes the Los Angeles Times, “Sinclair never fails to make you laugh and never sacrifices the narrative to make a point.” Winner of the Carl Sandburg Award from the Friends of the Chicago Public Library and named a best book of the year in young adult fiction by the American Library Association, Coffee Will Make You Black is an exquisite portrait of adolescence that will resonate with readers of all ages.

GOD HAD ME In His Hands All The Time is a true story of mental, verbal and physical abuse of a child from memory. Some of the names have been changed. Even though I am an adult, I can remember most of it like it was yesterday, while part of my mind seem to put up a shield to block out the abuse. I can feel the pressure on my brain, but it wont release it. Childens minds are very fragile thats why a good and well nurtured environment is so important during their growth. I knew God had to be carrying me like the poem Foot Prints in the Sand, because otherwise I would not have survived. I couldnt see it or understand why it was happening to me. All I ever knew was hurt and pain. The abuse scared me. Through the years I looked for love in the wrong places and in the wrong people. Growing up unloved and unwanted makes you yearn just that much harder, because you never stop looking and taking chances without thinking. Wanting to belong and loved is what food is to the body in order to survive. You always tell yourself this person will love me. Every time I put my heart out on the line it get crushed. I always found myself struggling to survive, even as an adult. I felt beat down with no self esteem. I found TRUE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for the first time when I accepted JESUS the CHRIST in my life. I was so shocked because I was on the receiving end of love this time. Something I never had before.

Raising Hope for Darius is an intriguing murder mystery about two-year-old Darius, who is the only witness to the untimely death of his mother, Hope. In an attempt to cover the crime, the murderer changes his life’s course, never imagining the possibility of the witness being capable of solving the case with the help of the award-winning journalist Trey who happens to be Darius’ uncle.

From the critically acclaimed author of Honor Girl, comes a “sassy, sultry whodunit” (School Library Journal) set in an Atlanta boarding school that’s infused with subversive humor and featuring a cast of bizarre and unforgettable characters. It’s better to know the truth. At least sometimes. Halfway through Friday night’s football game, beautiful cheerleader Brittany Montague—dressed as the giant Winship Wildcat mascot—hurls herself off a bridge into Atlanta’s surging Chattahoochee River. Just like that, she’s gone. Eight days later, Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds will be the only ones who know why. Their search for the truth reveals a web of depravity hiding in plain sight at their picture perfect school. When love becomes obsession, how far will someone go to make their twisted fantasies a reality? And who has the power to stop them? A twisty, turny mystery loaded with the perfect punch of satire and heart.

This is the story of the irresistible chemistry of Destiny, and the love of a man and a woman . . . a bond they could not understand . . . a journey they never suspected. Who will win, Fate or Family? Their story is the continuance of one begun four hundred years before at the crossroad of Fate. But today, Marcel and Monique must struggle to realize the fruits of their powerful feelings.