I was born on a bright sunny day in May, in a beautiful small country town called Oxford, Mississippi, which might I say is the home of other authors such as John Grisham and William Faulker. As my parent's  first child and only girl, I am told it was truly special, especially to my mom when I was born on Mother’s Day. I began elementary school in Memphis, Tennessee. It was culturally enriching. The south was a very defining experience in my life both beautiful and hospitable at times, as well, there was the harshness and unfairness of a segregated south. I began at a young age to see both the good and evil in people. This was an aspect of life that baffled me; why do we have so much good to offer, yet have difficulty recognizing that kindness and compassion are not only a strength, but powerful, both individually and collectively. 

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My family moved to Ann Arbor, MI, a small eclectic university town, when I was in the third grade. Trading the pine trees, red clay dirt and the beauty of the country scenes in the south to a small university town that was freezing cold in the north, may I say, took some time getting used too. But growing up in a town with the enrichment and beauty of diverse cultures and ethnicity's for the most part was wonderful. While there were challenges,  there was something special about hearing and learning about the rich tapestry of the unique experiences, stories, faith, music, foods, rituals, attire, and more.

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I matriculated at Cleary University where I received my Bachelors in Business Administration and Management and later at the University of Phoenix; where I earned a Masters degree in Education Administration and Supervision, as well as leadership. Even in my junior high school years, I knew that I wanted to write and to be an entrepreneur. But it would be a journey before I would see it come to fruition. I had the honor of being blessed with the birth of my two wonderful sons. Need I say that being a mother is my greatest blessing and the highlight of my life. However, in 1993 my eldest son was fatally shot at a neighbors house at the age of sixteen. It was devastating and the most difficult experience of my life. As told to me, there were  several youth in the house yet no one would conclusively and collectively have the same story as to what happened. From my perspective, everything in my world seemed to change drastically. I lost my way, purpose, and faith. I was consumed with sadness and despair.

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As I stepped outside the hospital where my son took his last breath, the blue skies seemed to turn a dull gray and everything around me seemed to come to a slow halt. Life seemed severely altered. Nothing was the same! Everything around me sounded quiet as my  world seemed to stand still in that very time and moment. Need I say that I was devastated, heartbroken and unbearably sad and eventually became reclusive. I was angry, frustrated and bitter. I felt misunderstood, abandoned and betrayed by everyone, even God .

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To compound the hurt and pain, was when I found myself in a jail holding cell for about three hours for using profanity in the presence of law enforcement. While the case was dismissed, it was life changing for me. Peace, healing, and a way through the pain seemed more profoundly important than ever before. I had experienced years of sadness, anger, chronic depression and desperately wanted peace, harmony, and balance in my life. The pain of grief  and emotional turmoil was unbearable and I did not know how to pull myself out of it until I cried out to the very God that I felt had left me. I pleaded with God for help! As I surrendered the efforts of trying to do things my way, I began to receive divinely inspired messages that I would record and ultimately put into writing this book. In the meantime, I began to research everything that I could about mourning, grief and loss. 

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This was particularly helpful for me because I finally began to understand that there are natural and normal responses that one can experience after the loss of a loved one. The anger, the tears, the sadness, and depression were a normal part of working through the pain of grief. So I slowly began to emerge from isolating myself from others when i was not at work, but the journey was not easy. I still cried daily as I asked God to teach me how to carry the beauty of my son's life with me in my heart, soul and memories rather than focus only on his death.

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In fact, I poured my heart and soul into a highly satisfying job working with an organization that focuses on the empowerment of women and later the other entity was educational advancement for youth.  Through my work, I had some of the most rewarding experiences as, it was delightful working over twenty years as a change agent for a community and micro-enterprise development program and later as a school administrator for an alternative high school. Under my leadership, I witnessed thousands of women follow their dreams of starting their own businesses and eventually obtaining major contracting opportunities with Fortune 500 corporations. As an educational leader, along with parents and faculty, I took pride in watching many of my students graduate high school and move on to college and careers.​ In the community development position, I traveled all over the U.S and now I am eager to travel abroad; perhaps the Maldives, Bora Bora, Egypt, India, Napal, Jordan, France, Spain, Belize, Jamaica and other islands.

 

Wild & in Graced by Your Own Power, began to be documented during what I call a twenty year wilderness journey with God where I was bombarded by what is believed to have been divine communications from God. As I began to document what was being revealed, a manuscript culminated. Many times, I have gone back to read it because it often felt like I was taking dictation from the spirit of God, Holy Spirit and the angels. My manuscript is now ready for sales.

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Wild & in Graced by Your Own Power is now available for purchase on this website. The online version eBook will be available soon (Spring 2022) by clicking on the “Book Gallery” section of this website. The inspiration and gifts of my life are my two sons, my mother, my dad, my three brothers, one sister and my aunt Leanna! I am working hard on the publishing of additional volumes of this novel, so check back soon for details! 

 

Warm Regards!

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Lendell

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Copyright © 2014 by Lendell McEwen all rights reserved