It’s Friday and time for my Guest Writer Spot. If you’d like your writing to appear on this page, please contact me here or by e-mail: esthernewtoneditor@outlook.com. I accept stories, poems, articles – in fact, anything and everything. All you have to do is make sure your prose is no longer than 2000 words and your poems no more than 40 lines.
This week’s Guest Writer is Mary A. Pérez. Here is a little bit about her:
Mary A. Pérez is a noted writer, author and blogger born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up running the streets of Miami until her late teens.
Her award-winning essays have been featured in The Latino Author, La Respuesta Magazine and Sofrito for Your Soul. Her debut memoir, Running in Heels: A Memoir of Grit and Grace
(Stellar Communications Houston, Second Edition 2016) has received rave reviews and her fans keep growing. She currently resides in Houston, Texas where she is blessed to be the mother of four grown children, “Mimi” to a couple of gorgeous grandchildren, and happily married (the second time around) to a phenomenal man for twenty-three years.
Mary is available for events, book club presentations, and book signings. Contact the Publisher Stellar Communications Houston ella@stellarwriter.com 281-804-7089 www.stellarwriter.com
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THE BATTLE WITHIN
BY
MARY A. PEREZ
Some of you know that I recently joined Toastmasters. Last Thursday, I was asked to introduce myself by giving my first speech called The Ice Breaker. The objectives are to begin speaking before an audience, and to discover speaking skills you already have and skills that need some attention. You only have four to six minutes to present it.
I’d like to share with you my Ice Breaker speech which I titled, “The Battle Within.” Was I nervous? You betcha! Did I stumble? Ah, yeah … but you move on and finish. By the way, I won best speech of the night. Go figure. You never know the outcome if you don’t put yourself out of your comfort zone and try.
Thank you, Mr. Toastmaster.
Hi, I’m Mary Ann. I’m a published author, currently working as an Inside Sales rep for a customer service company in Sugar Land, Texas. I am happily married to my best friend for 22 years, and I have four amazing children and two adorable grandchildren.
I was born in New York and raised in Miami after my parents separated when I was 3, and divorced by the time I was 5.
I lived with my single mother and we were dirt poor. There was no money, no food and no love. Now, when there’s no money, you don’t have any shoes, and you get a lot of eviction notices. When there’s no food, well, you’re hungry all the time. And when there’s no love, you feel isolate, insecure and invisible. Forced to grow up too fast, wearing shoes too big for my feet, and being my mother’s mother, crippled me emotionally.
At an early age, a battle was raging within me and that was the feeling of being “less than.”
Ashamed of my upbringing, heritage, and status, I felt only the ritzy kids went to summer camps, swimming lessons and Girl Scout gatherings, but not me; I was always on the outside looking in.
In my teens, I grew bitter and thinking that I could do better than my mother, I eventually ran into the arms of a ruthless man, twice my age. He was an alcoholic, a womanizer, a brow-beater, and he ruled with an iron fist. All the while, I struggled with that battle from within called insecurities. I wore a mask to try to cover feelings of low self-esteem and self-worth, which clouded my vision.
He and I did married. By the time I was 22, I had my 4th child. I was only a “baby-machine” to him, and he constantly fed my insecurities and never let me forget I was under his feet. I felt I couldn’t do better, so I stayed in that relationship. I felt trapped but I made the best of my situation for my children’s sake. Long story short, that marriage lasted 15 years. I guess I grew up.
In retrospect, it wasn’t until I returned to the God of my grandparents that my mind, past and emotions were healed. I know now that what I endured yesterday as a child and as a young adult made me the stronger woman that I am today.
A few years ago, I decided to write my memoirs for my kids so that they can know some of the history, struggles and hardships their mother faced. I wanted them to know that no matter what, our past does not have to dictate our future. And it’s been my present husband who encouraged and supported me all along, telling me, “You know you need to write for other women so that they can be inspired.” He was right.
Although no longer ashamed of my pain, you know I still fight a battle from within? I struggle with low self-esteem. I DO! But I know that I have God on my side now. He not only had given me the grit to come this far, but He also gives me His grace to carry me through every obstacle that I ever faced! I learned that the battles are not mine but are His.
In my book, “Running in Heels: A Memoir of Grit and Grace,” I share the coming-of-age journey about a girl’s refusal to be defined by her environment while seeking inner-healing thru her brokenness. No matter your past, you can still be a person of worth! And it starts with a made-up mind!
I have joined Toastmasters to help my battle from within that I may gain confidence during book signings, attending book clubs & author’s events in helping me by overcoming the fear, the insecurities & the nerves when it’s time to open my mouth. You see, it’s one thing to write a book, it’s quite another to be able to speak to others. I know I have something to say; my desire is to say it effectively and inspire others.
Thank you.
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Esther Chilton 
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