I am a small-town country girl from the big city of Cross, South Carolina. I was raised to care for others and to motivate everyone around me to love their skin regardless of how the world sees them. As long as you love yourself, no one can make you feel any kind of way about who you are.

I was born on November 23, 1980, to my mother, Viola Gourdine, and to my father, John Henry Simmions. I have always written poems since I was twelve years old. It was a way to express myself or to deal with the problems that I didn’t want to talk about. I was into sports. I played basketball for two years in high school. I am a graduate of Cross High School and Morris College.

I have now lived in Troy, New York, for the past fifteen years. I am a mother of two beautiful girls, Leonna Gourdine and Samira Gourdine They are my motivation to strive for greatness. I am here to show them that through all things, you can achieve your dreams despite the cards you’re dealt. You can overcome situations and not be stuck in the same position you were placed in. We have many faces that we put on to mask how we feel. This book is to motivate you to love all the masks you carry, to inspire you to make all your mistakes, combined into one masterpiece—the best you.