Savor the Flavor & Get Twice the Luv: Editor Notes and Various Blogs

By Jamala M Johnson

I didn't write this book per say; it is, in all actuality, a culmination of writings I began shortly after relocating to Virginia in December of 2005. Disconcerted and disoriented after relocating to Virginia to stay for an extended period of time, I didn't immediately reach out to the community or a particular local charity organization. Truthfully, it would be months before I would reach out to them. Upset beyond words, with a cloud of confusion hanging over my head, it took weeks, actually months, before I began to actively read and write in full speed. To get back into full speed of reading, I began reading familiar classics and young-adult books that I checked out from the local public library. In the evenings, I began to reread and review several of the grammar books I had purchased while in college. As the cloud of confusion began to dissipate, I slowly began to take steps to regain direction and a sense of purpose. Once I began, I knew I had to do something to keep from going into a deep depression, from being the proverbial perpetual victim, and to break the vicious cycle of learned self-helplessness. Exactly what that something I knew I had to do right at that particular instance, I didn't have a definitive idea. With a clear understanding that I knew I had to do something to regain direction and a sense of purpose, I began to take an honest look at the life I had led as well as the events and actions that not only led me to the state of Virginia but also lead me to a place of desolation, despondency, and isolation. Veritably, up until the moment, I had been living a tumultuous and turbulent life. And in all honesty, this had not been the first time I relocated here to regain direction and focus. Under different circumstances, from 1991 to 1992, after completing my freshmen year at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), I relocated to Virginia to get academically focused and to save money for living expenses with the intent of going back to FAMU as a full-time student. All of the circumstances, events, situations, and actions that lead me back to Virginia, I relived those moments in the days, nights, weeks, and months during the hours I had set aside to reevaluate the life I had led. Eventually, I realized I most definitely had a past, present, and a future. As sobering as that might sound, I didn't fully grasp the concept or understand that I could move forward without having to deny the life I had led and that I could move forward without having to make excuses for the person I had been in my teens, twenties, and thirties.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1499059752
• ISBN13: 9781499059755
• Release Date: January 2015
• Publisher: Xlibris
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"