Sharon, The Sole Maven,
 

I'm an author who recently penned a civil rights biography in the publishing stages. Growing up in the 1960s as a person of color proved to be emotional and, at times, turbulent as the daughter of Rev. Dr. L.E. Bennett because he took the selfless step forward to integrate the significant telecommunications company of Southwestern Bell/AT&T. The pressures that a civil rights activist endured also affected his family.

 

I deeply desired to research my family history in the 1990s with Daddy, the late Rev. Dr. L.E. Bennett, who had long studied the family's tree. As a result, I gained a new appreciation for my father's sacrifice to change the world during his genetic swab. I worked on his biography and did interviews for the past several years. As the daughter of L.E. Bennett, I explored him with family interviews and reviewed photo albums. Also, researched the Communication Workers of America CWA union and Southwestern Bell/AT&T records to piece together this man's remarkable journey from the janitor and civil rights pioneer to second-level District management in Special Services Project Engineering over five states of the southwest.

 

As a lover of reading since elementary, I began writing through personal journals and poetry in middle school. It was a cathartic release for me while dealing with the expectations as a civil rights family member. I've a B.A. from Sam Houston State University, under which I'd taken writing and art classes. Then earned a B.S.N. for Nursing from Incarnate Word University, again taking art and writing courses. Since then, I have had a medical career, written three fictions on relationships, a self-help booklet and journal, and did women's empowerment speaking. After retiring from forty-three years of service, I began a content medical copywriting business, www.JoltVivoEscribo.com. Also, I've taken additional writing courses, gotten certified in life coaching, and I write for Canopy Atlanta a community paper about politics/education/transportation or whatever affects the neighborhood. In addition, I do student mentoring, and I've found a wonderful church home. I have my own voice and style of writing. However, my best accomplishments are those as a mother, grandmother, friend, daughter, and television binger.