My Story

 It started with a poem and a desire to escape.

The poem was written by Maya Angelou. I was sitting at the desk of my first professional job dying for something to pull me away from the monotony of my tasks, and I followed the echoes of Maya's poetic words into the beautiful rabbit hole of her life. This led me to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, falling deeper into her childhood experiences every chance I got until I finished. I followed the calling of books to my local library and I read my way to the flats of Morocco in Tangerine by Christine Mangan and to the brownstone of the Women in the Window by A.J. Finn. Each book carried me through and to each season of my life, and with each season and each book, my appreciation of fiction books and what reading them does for the mind grew. 

In 2021, I moved to Texas and my world expanded even more - life proved its limitless to me through that transition. I explored the meanings of morals and questioned the weightlessness of judgement with Sula by Toni Morrison and discussed them with my best friend. I saw the impact of Sula's story: how the paradoxical themes within that book sparked conversations with those that I love and changed my thoughts on the world. It was apparent to me that this is what I need and this is what I want: a safe space to commune and grow and love with people (book readers or not), and through my love of books, I would create this space through conversations and experience. 

Fiction books carried me through both the hard and lofty seasons - I traveled to imaginary forests and followed the lives of fiction characters only to remember the limitless of my own. I learned about myself as I questioned the comfortability of life and challenged myself to go beyond what's in front of me towards what is awaiting me. And I hope to inspire others through the experience I create and provide through Candescent Books.