No Place to Cry

By Elizabeth T. Sutton

This book came into my heart when I realized my life had been full of adversity. It gives a description of my life starting as early as sleeping in my playpen and being bit on my toe by a mouse when I was a few weeks old. You name it, I survived just about everything imaginable. Experience taught me to respect and accept adversity. God gave me the tools necessary for survival. Also wisdom taught me how to apply the survival tools towards the direction I needed and desired to go. I learned to find peace and be still in it. Most importantly I kept faith in a higher power than myself, seeking Gods word in Psalms. 34:15-17 God hears your every prayer, there I found a happy place and know that nothing matters enough to cry about it. I aligned myself with positive energy from the people, places and things around me. I was forced to embrace adversity as a normal part of survival. Be selfish about doing happy. Its your life, always do you and you will feel free to be present when needed.

Author photo by Elizabeth Ashley & Co
Cover design by JMarie Designs

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524687557

Elizabeth T. Sutton

Elizabeth now a retired family coordinator, from Duke University; grew up in Durham, North Carolina. An ordinary little girl who dared to become an extraordinary woman. She Takes you on her very personal brow raising journey. Most would say her life as a child was far beyond what one may consider quote" a normal life." After she survived many storms in her life she eventually found herself landing on a beach uniquely hers. On her beach she struggled as though she was in and out of sinking sand. She Knew nobody but God helped her out of the struggles. Finally, through wisdom and knowledge she found solid ground, calmly accepting adversity as a normal part of life. Her reaching solid ground speaks of trust as she embraces a Divine Spirit. She knew her Divine spirit gave her the vision to hear Its life saving message. She found peace being still, amid the noise, hustle and bustle of life. She intentionally maintained her grateful spirit knowing who wiped her ocean of tears. No Place to Cry is shared to inspire everyone to take time to find your happy place. Her positive spirit nurtures constant enthusiasm and incredible strength.

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© 2017 Elizabeth T. Sutton. 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 04/22/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-8756-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-8754-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-8755-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017905535

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CEV Isaiah 40:31, Those who trust the Lord will find new strength

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Dawn of My Life

Hayti Girl

Economic Life

Early School Life

Spirit Led

Hayti Girl Cultivated

A Lost Childhood

Bartered for Childcare

Teenager’s First Love

Abuse Is Real

Single Yet Not Free

My New Adventure

Back to My Real World, Part Two

Blessings Are Real

Share and Care

My Brothers and Sisters

Stepping Out of the Box

Adversity Has Its Place

Ancestry Search Adventure

Spirit Led, Spirit Fed

Divine Intervention

Surviving Breast Cancer

Knowledge Is the Fuel That Keeps My Fire Burning

Do Your Happy

God’s Grace and Love Give Me Chills: Solid Ground

My Life Is Full of Awareness Ribbons

Sources of Inspiration

About the Author

To my three adult children Michael, Steve II, and Ashley; my grandson Desmon; and my great-grandson Dillon.

My heart beats strong and grateful for my legacy to continue for my children and generations to come. The emotional chains of secrecy are broken forever as truth prevails. I see my children growing in God’s grace and mercy as adversity teaches them gratefulness and truth.

I love you all. Continue to live intentionally, in the moment as you seek joy and happiness.

Foreword

Dear Elizabeth,

It is a blessing to know you.

We journeyed together and were partners. I was your physician and worked with you to help you heal your body. You taught me about nutrition, faith, and ways to talk about finding health. Because of you, I am the richer and wiser for working with you. Your words were carried to many of my patients and helped them in their healing journeys. You blessed my life with your faith and courage.

Dr. Victoria Seewaldt

Acknowledgments

I am truly grateful and acknowledge those who have supported me as I struggled through years trying to put my life into words. The purpose and scope of my writing this book is significantly based upon my relationship with my doctor, the awesome Dr. Victoria Seewaldt, my oncologist at Duke Medical Center for at least seventeen years. We were kindred spirits who were always feeling hopeful. My heart feels thankful for the years of clinical visits that I looked forward to making just to see her. I am truly thankful for her amazingly kind spirit and dedicated service. Her professionalism always helped me to feel safe and secure in her care.

I would like to thank Dr. Zenn, my plastic surgeon, whose skillful hands promised me many more years of happiness.

To my husband, Steve, who patiently supported me while I spent time creating my work, I express my heartfelt love and gratitude.

I give my unconditional love to my children, Michael, Steve II, and Elizabeth Ashley, whose encouragement influenced my drive to share the truth about my experience and our family history.

I thank my mom, Mary Morgan (may she rest in peace), for her gentle and private spirit, which was one of my greatest inspirations for this book.

I could never forget the confidence that my late stepfather, William Morgan, instilled in me while I was growing up and spending time in his barber shop. His influence helped me to become the woman I am today.

I thank and honor my biological father, the late Charlie Thompson, whose happy personality put me in touch with the fun-loving side of myself.

I am grateful to my brother Bobby Lyons who remains loyal to my needs as a sister. He reaches out to me when I need a brother to understand me.

I honor my wonderful uncle Morris Thompson who, at eighty-two, still talks about walking and eating healthy. His words of wisdom continue to feed my spirit.

My heart is deeply grateful to my pastor, the Reverend Doctor William E. Daye for more than forty-seven years of spiritual guidance and counseling. Thanks to Reverend Troy Dixon for his prayers and his encouraging me to continue writing when I wanted to give up.

Thanks to my friend and technology consultant Grady Tart, who came to my assistance when I had written only seventeen pages of this book. I appreciate the hours committed to helping me understand the functions of my new laptop computer and the final editing of this book.

I extend a special thank you to my friend Pam for her advice after reading my first book draft. Thanks to my sister friend Ethel, who I call Betty. She came to me shortly after my surgery and has been a loyal friend when adversity threatened my faith. Thanks to Dr. Singleton, a sister in Christ who helped me with the first stage of my book.

Thanks to all who have, in your own unique ways, been positive influences in my life.

Introduction

My choice to share my life story manifested as my heart and soul traveled far into the past and realized it revealed details of an extra ordinary journey. My life had heart-wrenching times of suffering and struggles. There were also times in my life filled with joy and happiness keeping me hopeful and enthusiastic.

Several times out of frustration, I wanted to give up and walk away from sharing my story. The message in my heart challenged me to give one good reason not to share my amazing story. I thought, If I did give up, I would never get to share my legacy with generations. I would, therefore, not feel the joy of closure because I would be holding onto so much stuff.

My life is much like struggling in the ocean, landing on a beach alone, and finding solid ground. I went through the storms; prayed silently; and discovered a divine spirit residing inside me, always protecting me, as early as five. Each time I recovered from major and minor storms, nobody but God led me out. My life, still full of adversity, pushed me out closer to solid ground, helping me build courage to accept the things I cannot change. I am wiser because a gift from God planted my feet on solid ground.

Writing my story let me know the measure of my strength. Being strong is all I know. Each adversity became a stepping stone to greater peace and trust in God. When I am weak, He who resides inside me is strong. The gifts from God were, at times, stumbling blocks I encountered as misunderstanding, bullying, and unnecessary challenges. After reaching solid ground, my faith remains strong. Crying no longer has a place in my life. In my senior season of my life, I grew emotionally by taking care of my needs. Being happy is my mantra. I found this to be the best way to replenish my energy and give even more to those I love.

While on this journey writing my story, I discovered feelings I didn’t know existed. Wisdom exposed me to tools to use as I learned my own feelings and emotions. One important fact that helped me to focus was knowing that living in the now, intentionally, is the only real existence I own.

My story is authentic to my actual life. On this journey, I use the term colored several times because that is what we were called back in the ’40s and early ’60s. I had to use the public accommodations marked colored only, for example, colored water fountains and colored restrooms. My story is uncomplicated yet a bit overwhelming at the same time. Enjoy the journey.

The Dawn of My Life

W e all have our stories to tell. I invite you to join me on my personal journey of excitement, adversity, and moments of happiness. Survival was the most dominant part of my life growing up in the South—a real trip without luggage. Joyfully, I still remember the fragrance of the honeysuckles, the taste of persimmons, and the bitterness of green plums. My fear of little green snakes made hunting for ripe plums a memory from the past.

My life began as an ordinary little girl who would become extraordinary as life happened. I was born to a young, colored couple who lived in Durham, North Carolina, in 1945. Back in those days, I recall the air being much cleaner—sweet, like love hugging my body, keeping it safe. I remember the fall most because my birthday is in that season. The new school year began in September. Even the hard times were special, connecting like a web, bringing forth the next adventure, and with it, hopefully, a new lesson learned.

After being in this world for only two weeks, adversity had already found me, sleeping peacefully in my playpen. Mama described the time when a small mouse bit me on my little toe as I slept. She shared a few other events of my childhood over time but often left out a lot of important details. Come to think of it, she told me a lot of things, not realizing the mental and emotional impact. She did not realize the influence adversity would have on me at such an early age. If getting bitten had happened to me at another time in history, I could have died from the bubonic plague. These thoughts were a part of my mother’s conversation when she discussed how blessed I was to be here in this world.

Around the time I was born, my parents had emotional disagreements. After a while, my fun-loving father decided he could not take it any more. He left the family and went north. He desired to seek answers to dreams that many black men looked for in those days. This major decision set the stage that would play a major role in shaping the life of this little colored