My Story

Bringing together my wealth of knowledge, experience, and insight, I have launched my highly anticipated biography, Bamboo and Fern, this month. My decision to put pen to paper stems from my desire to share my childhood experiences. Experiences that gave me strong roots to grow but made me tough and bendable like the bamboo plant, at the same time I am vulnerable with a huge capacity for survival, somewhat like a fern. It is this intriguing metaphor that inspired the title of my debut book that tells the courageous story of Ava, growing up in one of the poorest areas of Jamaica, and learning life’s lessons of perseverance and survival.From a young age, I had a self-taught belief that I was destined for more than the community’s recreational activities of sex, raising babies and going to the farm, gave me the courage and determination to forge a very different path than the one expected of me.

My story begins in a poor, rural area, where the need to find food often took priority over school. The moving story follows my journey through my adolescent years, which were encased in the dark shadows of incest and sexual abuse, to my young adult years when the event of being held at gunpoint finally led me to flee my home country in order to save my sanity.

My resilience and love for my native country allowed me to view the harsh experiences I was exposed to as stepping stones on the journey to becoming a strong and self-reliant woman. A woman who is capable of helping our society to break the vicious cycle of poverty and its often catastrophic effects.

Through my rousing book, Bamboo & Fern, I invite you to share my journey. You will experience my triumphs and setbacks, my trials and tribulations. Bamboo & Fern will break your heart, before it makes you smile. Be prepared for a rollercoaster ride that will undoubtedly motivate, inspire and fuel.