Hitting the Reset Button

By Vanessa Smoke

Hitting the Reset Button takes you inside Vanessa Smokes world of six marriages and six divorces. She allows you to peek into her private mind filled with bipolar illness. Chronic optimism was one of her secret weapons. What other secrets kept a smile on her face in spite of her terrible brain disease and the disappointments of divorce?

If anyone has learned how to reset their life, she has. Vanessa Smoke has shown that it can be done with grace and dignity. You too can hit the reset button in your life (if needed) by following her lead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984515865

Vanessa Smoke

Vanessa Smoke is a native of Wilmington, Delaware. Recently retired, her career as a Cosmetologist spanned nearly 30 years. It included becoming an Instructor at the prestigious Paul Mitchell School and writing chapters for a celebrity hairstylist in his beauty book. Hitting the Reset Button is Vanessa Smokes first independent literary work. She plans to use the rest of her retirement entertaining the world with her prose.

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Copyright © 2018 by Vanessa Smoke.

Library of Congress Control Number:     2018903448

ISBN:                Hardcover                    978-1-9845-1588-9

                           Softcover                      978-1-9845-1587-2

                           eBook                            978-1-9845-1586-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Written and Illustrated By Vanessa Smoke.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/22/2018

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Dedication

Chapter 1   Holy Smoke

Chapter 2   Smoke In The Kitchen - The Kitchen Club

Chapter 3   The Little Smokes – My Collection Of Black Jewels

Chapter 4   Chronically Optimistic & The Smoke Optimism Chart

Chapter 5   Smoke And Mirrors Salon Academy & Under The Dryer Book Series

PRAISES FROM THE HEART

Personal Reflections Of Life And Faith

Epilogue

INTRODUCTION

I AM WRITING THIS small but mighty book to demonstrate God’s love for me and you. As soon as I was born I was taught to trust God. Heeding my mother’s instruction I trusted God throughout my entire life. My mother is a mighty warrior for the Lord and I have become quite a soldier myself. That does not mean I have escaped torment and hard times. I’ve learned to Cast My Cares on him who created me. Poverty, disease, and even depression could not hold back what God has for me. Now, I am reaping the promises of God’s word. As you read these heart-felt short stories of my life you will see how God was with me at all times.

DEDICATION

T HIS COURAGEOUS BOOK is dedicated to my mother, Carolyn Smoke. She worked tirelessly in church and instilled an unshakeable faith in me that has transcended three generations. With God’s blessing, this book will continue the legacy of the Smoke family for many generations to come. —Vanessa Smoke

CHAPTER ONE

HOLY SMOKE

I HAVE HAD SIX marriages and six divorces, lived in 28 houses and had over 25 different jobs. I have been hospitalized in the psychiatric ward three times and more than once I’ve been date raped. No! Don’t you dare pity me! Because I possess the richest spirit and the most blessed life of any individual you will ever meet. My happiness and optimism scale has soared completely off of the charts. It is largely due to my three highly successful adult children, my cured brain disease and our awesome and precious God.

When I married for the first time, I was just like any young woman who wanted to marry a handsome man, have a baby or two, and live happily ever after. Isn’t that what all young girls dream of, maybe not all but most? Well, I did. So I met a handsome salesman at a store in the paint department. After a short courtship we moved to Florida together without a lot of careful thought. My financial contribution was an income tax return. He had a van, the hands of a skilled carpenter, and a map. And off the Florida we went. We got married there in a small chapel. We rented an adorable house with a small area of land that we farmed. It had a couple of fruit trees, peach and lemon. We planted potatoes, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce and other greens vegetables. I even learned how to use a rototiller. Soon after reaching Florida we found out that we were having a baby. When our baby girl was born all was well. She enjoyed watching us farm outside while she sat swinging from a large hanging wicker swing. She had two other playmates. The two miniature collies we had named Spic and Span. When our daughter was nearly two years old I went home to Delaware to visit my family on a brief vacation. When I went back home to my husband in Florida he had painted our house and the house across the street. He installed a new air conditioner and repaired our sliding glass door. I interpreted his surge of