Showing results by author "Starkishia" in All Categories

Starkishia: Estrella is a story about a little girl who grew up too fast to feel the grass wear thin under the soles of her shoes. Abuse thickened her skin, yet her nightmares were as dark as they were real. The library became her sanctuary where stories took her to another place and time. But, in reality there was nothing imaginary about the bruises under her clothing as she advanced from one classroom to another during middle school, or nothing fictitious about being molested by the maggot hands of a despicable relative.

Mary was born in 1933 in Scott County, Mississippi, to sharecroppers. Her memoir described her two fathers as the most significant people in her childhood. One of them was impoverished and indebted to white landowners and the other owned property and was independent. They agreed to expose Mary to both worlds. Change is hard, but Mary found her way and the inspiration to dream. With the gift of song and the mind to step out of the box, Mary broke ground in business and in song.