Finding Your Force: A Journey to LOVE~

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Earth Mother Voices All Women’s Open Mic~

“Farm FRESH at La Finca Del Sur” presents:

Earth Mother Voices All Women’s Open Mic

Hosted by Maria Aponte – Gonzalez

Featured Authors: Peggy Robles-Alvarado & Alicia Anabel Santos

ABOUT PEGGRY ROBLES-ALVARADO

Author of Conversations With My Skin

Peggy Robles- Alvarado is a Puerto Rican and Dominican educator and writer whose inspires triumph and embodies strength. Becoming a mother at the age of fifteen, overcoming relationship abuse, earning a Master's degree in elementary education with a bilingual extension, teaching in the South Bronx since 2001, and healing through poetry and prose have all served as creative catalysts for this profound petite powerhouse who has published her first book of poetry titled Conversations With My Skin. Click link: Conversations With My Skin on AMAZON.COM

ABOUT ALICIA ANABEL SANTOS

Alicia Anabel Santos is a Latina Writer, Producer and Playwright. She is a New York-born Dominican who is passionate about writing works that empower and inspire women to find their voices. Currently, she is completing her historical fiction novel titled, The Daughters of the Revolution. She is the Founder of the New York City Latina Writers Group. Santos has been traveling for three years working on the documentary Afrolatinos: The Untaught Story (WWW.AFROLATINOS.TV) and her play I WAS BORN was chosen as part of the ONE Festival in NYC, where she takes you through the labyrinth of Latin America where seven brave women tell you their stories. Alicia lives in Harlem, NYC with her daughter Courtniana. She works as a freelance writer and activist against sexual and physical abuse towards women and children. She attended New York University and Rhode Island College. Alicia recently published her first book a memoir, Finding Your Force A Journey to Love~ Click link: Finding Your Force on AMAZON.COM

Friday Sept 30th 2011
6:30pm to 8:30pm
138th Street & Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY.

Ladies – Bring your Poetry, Stories, Songs & Dance! Family & Friends welcomed!
Refreshments will be served.

La Finca Del Sur is located at 138th Street and Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY.

Directly across the street from the 138th Street & Grand Concourse stop on the 4/5 train.

Funded by a grant from Poets & Writers.

Creative consultant and co-producer: Bobby Gonzalez

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Rhode Island writer returns for a reading~

It's the late 1980's, I was so angry with my parents. I graduated High School June 1990 (barely graduating) and I'm living in Warwick, Rhode Island. The transition from my beloved New York City to suburban aka "the sticks" Warwick felt like I was living in the country. RI was a hard transition to make. The nights were filled with crickets, tranquility, clean streets, green grass and peaceful quiet. Living there scared the hell out of me. I missed the comforting sound of gun shots, horns honking in congested traffic and mad chaos.

Two years after graduating High School I would become a mother and this is where my journey to Finding Your Force begins.

I hope you will join me in what will be one of the most special readings of my life because a large chunk of my memoir and who I am today was formed in Rhode Island.

Venue: Roots@Providence Inner City Arts
Thursday, September 29th
7:00-10:00 PM
276 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903

We would like to invite you to a special reading of FindingYour Force A Journey to Love by Alicia Anabel Santos this Thursday, September29th in Providence, RI and possibly having Finding Your Force, A Journey to Love housed in your bookstore. Alicia will have books available evening of event.

Finding Your Force: A Journey to Love is a memoir written inthe form of a love letter to a daughter. In this intimate conversation wejourney into the darkest parts of Alicia’s soul. We walk with her as she digsdeep underneath the ruins where all her secrets are kept. Santos is beingcalled on an excavation to stop running and face those moments that havetransformed her from surviving rape, healing through loss and coming out as alesbian. This is a journey about life, death and rebirth. Alicia tells herdaughter a story that is raw and heart wrenching. It is not a love story butdefinitely a story of love. The book is available on Amazon for $19.99. Copieswill also be available for sale at the event.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alicia Anabel Santos is a Latina Writer, Producer and Playwright. She is a NewYork-born Dominican raised in Rhode Island who is passionate about writingworks that empower and inspire women to find their voices. Currently, she iscompleting her historical fiction novel titled, The Daughters of theRevolution. She is the Founder of the New York City Latina Writers Group.Santos has been traveling for three years working on the documentaryAfrolatinos: The Untaught Story (WWW.AFROLATINOS.TV) andher play I WAS BORN was chosen as part of the ONE Festival in NYC, where shetakes you through the labyrinth of Latin America where seven brave women tellyou their stories. Alicia lives in Harlem, NYC with her daughter Courtniana.She works as a freelance writer and activist against sexual and physical abusetowards women and children. She attended New York University and Rhode IslandCollege.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

“I have so much respect for your spirit, strength and sincerity. Many peoplearen’t able to survive the kind of trauma that you are writing about.”

“I am so proud of you for standing up for your words, for realizing your worth,over and over again. I’m happy that you show your humanness and allow yourreaders to see where you hurt and to see you revive and gain strength again.People respond because you initiate -dialogue, thoughts, words! You also showwhat you won't tolerate, the non-negotiable. Part of that involves the spacethat no one is allowed to enter unless you give them access, which shows youare still in control. How do you stay strong? By staying true to all that youare now and all that you are growing to become!”

EVENT DETAILS

Sofrito Entertainment, Isis Storm, and Providence Inner CityArts Presents: Alicia Anabel Santos at Native Tongues & Spoken Words: BilingualPoetry Night and Open Mic in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Thursday,September 29, 7:00-10:00 PM. Venue: Roots Café @ Providence Inner City Artslocated @ 276 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903.

Author can booked for speaking engagements by emailing Emma Diaz @ findingyourforce@gmail.com.

Monday, September 26, 2011

When it's crumbling around us~ Spirit check-in!

How are you today?

How are you today? I am thinking about all the people who will say that to someone today.

“How are you?” Can you imagine if you went around asking someone this question and they actually told us the truth - - told us everything.

“How are you?” And then they hit us with every single issue, problem, drama, feeling and emotion that plagues them.

“How are you?” And they tell that they are doing FANTASTIC! When really they are feeling completely depressed and their world is crumbling around them.

“How are you today? I am asking myself… HOW AM I TODAY? HOW IS ALICIA ANABEL TODAY?

To tell you the truth I’m feeling kind of sad today… there is a lot going on in the universe, in the world, around me, to the people I know, to people I don’t know… so much of what is happening is making the people around me feel BROKEN… there are a lot of people in PAIN right now. Sadness is felt in the air. So today I write a letter to those people are feeling a little broken who want nothing more than to actually tell people HOW THEY’RE REALLY FEELING today… empty… alone… with issues that feel all consuming and often unbearable to take… saying to themselves…

I can’t do this anymore!
I want something else!
I feel empty!
I feel so alone!
I don’t want to be here!
I don’t know what I want!
No one cares!

Excerpt from: Finding Your Force A Journey to Love

I wasn’t able to face myself. I didn’t want to look at my life, my mistakes and poor choices. I didn’t want to believe what my life had become. I didn’t want to accept the choices that I had made. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t strong enough. I didn’t want to face the truth.

The person I am today is better equipped. I can now look at the wounds and peel away at the layers of my skin. I can look at the wounds and dissect them. I am ready to really go deep down into all of it and pull the skin up and look at the truth of each experience.

I don’t remember being a child… something changed in my life. I can’t pin point the exact date. All of it is a complete blur. It’s as if the clock stopped. I’m frozen in time. All the beatings felt like one beating. I was little, 6 or 7 years old. My book bag was lying on the floor in my bedroom. It made your abuelo so angry. I was in bed when he started yelling, “How many times have I told you to pick up your shit?” For every word he yelled he hit me over the head with the bag. I started screaming and crying. My head was bleeding. The buckle on the bag had a hook like one from a belt… the hook went through my scalp.

How do you heal from all that abuse? Where do you put it? I have very strong feelings about parents who put their hands on their children it fills me with rage. It is a fury that is indescribable. Parents have no fucking idea what they do to these defenseless / innocent children. They have no idea what they have done to us! How they have damaged us!

There is residue that is left behind when a parent raises their hands to a child. A child left broken and scarred will become the child who is either shy and never learns to speak up for themselves and might grow up to take abuse from bosses, husbands, wives, lovers, bullies, and any other figure of authority. Or they might become the abuser themselves taking out their frustrations on others. Doing what was done to them. Or they will turn out like me be a scarred, frightened, beautifully broken child in a grown woman’s body. A woman who works tirelessly everyday to break the cycle of abuse and leave a mark – A DIFFERENT MARK - not from beatings - - but from LOVE.

I was finally let out of this cage. My self imposed prison that I didn’t event know I was living in. I had everyone fooled including me. I had convinced myself that my past had no affect on my future. Ignoring it didn’t make it go away. It takes a tremendous amount of strength to not only look at the events of my past but also to relive all of it. Allowing it all to rise to the surface in the name of exploration and expansion. I was ready to look at each letter closely. I was ready to look at the lies. I was ready to look at the truth and learn what the gifts were from those moments. I wanted to acknowledge their arrival so that I could release all of it.

Letter to reader… the human family needs constant healing and love. We can’t do this alone. We need each other. We need help. When we are feeling, helpless, hopeless, scared, alone or depressed we must reach out to someone for help. Do the work to release those things that no longer serve. These emotions can feel like poison chipping away at our spirits. It takes time, commitment to do the work and faith that your force will get you through anything.

CLICK LINK:

Finding Your Force is available on AMAZON.COM