When Mirror Me Became More Than a Story 

It Started as a Story

I can’t point to one specific moment when Mirror Me stopped being just a story and became something more.

It began with an idea I wanted to explore. I thought it would make a good story.

But as I dug into the emotional layers of the book, particularly what it means to live with the different postures, I began examining myself and the people around me.

I recognized those postures in myself, my sisters, and my mother. Then I started noticing them in other women.

The more I listened to women tell their stories, the more familiar those patterns became.

Women’s Voices

We live in a patriarchal society, and throughout history, women’s voices have often been quieted. Not completely silenced, but certainly not celebrated or amplified the way they should have been. We’ve been taught to carry our pain quietly, to endure, and to keep moving.

And I began to see how those expectations shaped the women around me.

Some women shrink themselves to keep the peace.

Others are taught that their value comes from how much they give. They pour into their families, their children, and their communities, often leaving very little for themselves.

Some lead with fire. They’ve learned that to be successful, they must be tough enough to fight for everything. Somewhere along the way, they were taught that strength and softness couldn’t exist together.

And then there are women who have gained wisdom through years of living, learning, and surviving, only to find that their voices still aren’t heard until much later, if they’re heard at all.

These weren’t just fictional postures anymore. I was seeing them everywhere.

More Than Sam’s Story

As I continued writing, I realized Mirror Me wasn’t just telling Sam’s story.

I wanted women to recognize something of themselves in it.

To ask questions like:

Why do I respond this way?

Why do I handle conflict like this?

Where did I learn that?

Is this really who I am, or is it something that was handed to me?

I hadn’t expected to be asking myself those questions when I started writing.

Another Layer

And then there’s race.

Black women carry another layer of history and expectation that shapes how we move through the world. That matters in Mirror Me, and I wasn’t interested in pretending otherwise.

But I also believe that, regardless of race, every woman has inherited something she didn’t choose.

Sometimes it’s a belief. Sometimes it’s a fear. Sometimes it’s a way of protecting herself that she learned long before she understood why she needed it.

And sometimes she passes it on without realizing it.

Looking in the Mirror

That’s why this story became important to me.

It began as a story about one woman and her family. Somewhere in the writing, I began to see the women who raised me, the women I grew up alongside, and the women I’ve become acquainted with over the years.

And I began to recognize myself.

Mirror Me became an invitation to look in the mirror and ask why we stand in the posture that we do.

I think that’s a question worth asking.

Mirror Me launches February 2027