From Wrags to Ritches Cycles

By Sharon Levette Coleman

This is an unforgettable real-life journey of dark family secrets that is changing millions of lives.

From Wrags to Ritches is a true story about the author’s teenage mother, Ethan, who becomes pregnant and drops out of school. She marries her high school sweetheart in 1955 and loses their child due to miscarriage. They later move from Darling, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee, in search of a better life. As a result, Ethan falls prey to poverty, domestic violence, alcohol and drug addiction, abandonment, and sexual and mental abuse, which entrap her dysfunctional family into a complex cycle of dark secrets and generational curses. The author, determined not to be influenced by her mother’s bad experiences, shares her painful childhood and bad memories. She ultimately finds a shocking new twist of spiritual enigma to break through and conquer the recurring cycles and mediocrity for a rich and rewarding life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524695255

Sharon Levette Coleman

Sharon Levette Coleman Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.) Actress • Actor • Producer

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© 2017 Sharon Levette Coleman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/15/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9526-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9525-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017908721

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DEDICATION

I dedicate the book From Wrags to Ritches Cycles to my ancestors, parents, siblings, husband and children. You all gave me a reason to write. I give honor to my ancestors for praying for our families and teaching us about God. I give praise to my young adult parents for doing the best they could to raise and love me. I’m thankful that they shared their truth with me. I’m grateful to my siblings for encouraging me during my journey. I love you Mr. Goodwin for sticking by me while in my wilderness and taking me to the oceans to write. Thanks for supporting me during my journey to recreate myself. Darriell, Kiera, Keanna and Danielle you gave me a reason to change and to stop the cycle of dysfunctions and generational curses from traveling through me to you all. Take this story and use it as a road map and become a curse breaker. To mom, I miss you.

Contents

One Last Talk With Mom

Lack Of Parenting

Family Dark Kept Secrets

The Cycle Of Teenage Pregnancy

Influenced By The Wrong People

Signs Of The Water

Turnout To Dysfunctions

The Secrets I Found Researching

Fear

Prayer Works

The Business Person In Me

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

Studying To Become An Actress Was A Dream

The Hindrance And Bad Behavior

The Jack Of All Trades

Verbal Sexual And Physical Abuse

The Villiage

Teenage And Step Parenting

The Desire To Help Others

My Cast

My Role Models

Ready To Serve

Planting Seeds

Marriage

The Crash

No Sex

Alcohol Drugs Sex And Domestic Violence

Attracted To Wealth And Power

The Stronghold

Prayer Works

The Waters

About The Author

ONE LAST TALK WITH MOM

It was a cold day in Manhattan New York. I had just finished class, gathered my books and headed for the bus terminal. I was on my way back to Memphis. As I approached the bus, my telephone rang. I answered my phone; it was my sister. She was crying. I was nervous. I asked her what was wrong. She wouldn’t stop crying. I screamed in the phone, What’s wrong? She gathered herself together and said she had found Mom in her apartment on the floor. She told me Mom wasn’t conscious and that I needed to hurry home. I rushed and got on the bus. The driver wasn’t driving fast enough. When he got to the airport, I jumped off the bus, ran to B terminal, rushed through security and sat there at the gate waiting for the ticket agent to call for boarding. I feared the worst, wondering what could have possibly happened.

Mom and I had been talking for hours the night before. She was cheerful and didn’t sound sick. We were laughing about the cheap room I had found with the black and white television in it. I was telling her I hadn’t seen a black and white television in a long time. She was telling me how proud she was of me that I had courage enough to travel to New York to pursue my dreams in acting.

That night we talked about a lot of stuff. I told her I was getting tired of commuting back and forth. I shared with her how I feared that perhaps this was a dream that may never come true. Mom told me not to worry about anything. She wanted me to finish school. She said I got something I need you to do. I asked what? She repeated finish school and I’ll tell you the rest when you return home. I got off the plane rushed to my shop and asked my oldest brother, where was she? He said, she’s in the hospital. I rushed to the hospital and there she was; laying in the bed, unconscious. I was scared. I told Mom; please don’t leave me; not right now. I hadn’t prepared myself. Mom died and I began to write.

I had no idea I would write the story of my mother’s life. I had no idea writing would be a way for me to stay connected to her. Nor did I know I would re-create myself through writing. I loved her! The thought of not having her in my life to guide me was painful. Her death left a void in my heart. Through writing I could grieve and heal. I began to research my mom’s life and I learned a lot about her, myself and my family. It was then that I began to learn about generational curses, dysfunctional cycles and habits that flowed through our family.

I could identify strongholds and bad behavior that I had to change. Change started with the truth. Once I learned my family truth, I understood why the dysfunctional cycles were repeating. I began to understand the cycles had been passed down from generation to generation. I began the journey of re-creating myself. My journey was challenging. I had to forgive, love and let go of bad memories and unhealthy relationships. It was clear that some of the dysfunctional behaviors that were passed down to me were unintentional. It was my responsibility to stop the cycles from repeating to my children through me.

LACK OF PARENTING

Writing Mom’s story helped me to get over the pain of losing her to what was senseless. She died from a diabetic coma and hypertension. This proved to me that we needed to research our history and make changes. I’m sure exercising and eating the right foods would have helped to prevent both diseases. Her falling into depression and sedating her pain with pills didn’t help. One pill too many could have sent Mom into that coma. Mom had conquered the habit of using alcohol and drugs for over 25 years. Childhood memories of her past returned to haunt her. Rather than deal with her hurt she backslid to using pain pills. I noticed the change shortly after her mother died. She was sad because they didn’t get their chance to have those tough talks.

Grandma left Mom with a big void in her heart that remained unfulfilled. Mom never got over not having her father or mother in her life. She and her siblings lived with Great-grandmother. Great-grandmother did the best she could raising Mom and her two siblings. One thing for sure Great-grandmother taught her about God. Mom said it was God that taught her how to make it through life. Mom often said before she got to know about God she learned life the hard way. When asked what way was that; she answered through her mistakes and bad decisions.

Great-grandmother too didn’t have a mother or father in her life. Her mother died when she was twelve-years-old. She never got to know her father. She was left to raise her siblings. After raising her siblings, Great-grandmother gave birth to two girls and one boy. She never married; she was a single parent and her children didn’t know their fathers. She was tired of raising children but she took us in every time Mom and Dad brought us to the country for the summer. She did the best she could to teach us right from wrong. We went to church Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It saddened me to hear Mom talk about how much she missed having her parents in her life. It was clear that not having them around caused her pain.

I was thankful to have both of my parents in my life regardless of their hardships. They likely would have stayed married had they not married at a young teenage. They remained friends after they divorced and worked together to raise our family. I was thankful to have