Hi Reader, This week I went to the post office to mail some copies of my book to my amazingly supportive endorsers. As we finalized the transaction, the young lady behind the counter asked, “Did you write this book? What is it about?”I gave her a high-level overview, and her eyes widened with intrigue.“My mom is Jamaican and my dad is African American. I can’t imagine the culture clash you went through. I feel it, especially about school, between me and my cousins.” My mind raced as to how to...

Hi Reader, When I was ten years old, I made my first solo trip to the United States. I flew to Florida from Jamaica to visit friends and eventually, my grandmother who lived in Jacksonville. That’s me in a handmade skirt and shirt made by my mom. Complete with a straw hat in hand and a box of gifts at my feet, I was the image of a Caribbean girl in a new world. That trip opened my appetite for travel; it was the first of many solo trips. It’s taken me almost a decade to compile, write and...

Hi Reader, My old neighbor passed away in Jamaica last month. He was the kind of neighbor whose driveway was included in our bicycle loop; whose wife handed us bags of fruit across the fence; and whose voice bellowed harmonies as we sang together in church each Sunday. We have not lived in that neighborhood for years, but the memories we shared became alive as we thought of his family mourning his passing. In the Caribbean, as in many other parts of the world, elders such as my childhood...