J.L. Whitehead

Most of you know that I was sexually assaulted at the age of 6 and then 3 times by 3 different men who used 3 different grooming methods in order to victimize me. In my journey to figure out who I was and why I acted and behaved the way I did throughout my life, I had to perform a deep dive into my past. What I initially thought were isolated incidents that simply "occurred" were in fact episodes of trauma inflicted on a child that should have never happened even if I thought I wanted it...

So much has happened to me in the past 7 months that I hardly know where to begin. I mean, after all how do you explain my mindset and what has allowed me to get to this point? In November, I was fired from my position at the company that I had been employed by the better part of 8 years. Outwardly when it happened, I acted as if I were fine and that I was going to be okay. Inwardly, I was a mess and there's no shame in admitting that. My husband and I had to figure out what we were going...

When I formally entered the literary industry in 2011, I hit the ground running with eyes wide open and ego fully engaged. I wanted validation of my talents as an author and I received it. I received it from potential readers, bookstore proprietors, literary agents and fellow authors as well as providers of literary services. I had no idea what I was in for and I wasn't prepared for any of it. I assumed that any author that came before me would be willing to impart a little wisdom to make...