Tales of a Grown Girl: Sex, Drugs & Freedom: Sex, Drugs & Freedom: Sex, Drugs & Freedom: Sex, Drugs & Freedom

By Yolanda Brathwaite

Michelle Belle wasn't always the "Grown Girl" that you see today. Hell no! Her life started in the rough Projects of Brooklyn, NY known as Pink Houses. Once her mom, Darius, decided to move to the suburbs with her only child, life started to change for the worse for the now teenager. There, she met her two best friends, Taylor and Apri

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yolanda Brathwaite
• Release date: Mar 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781088041048

Yolanda Brathwaite

Yolanda Brathwaite is the owner of Grown Girls NYC. By goal is to help women be empowered, inspired, and celebrate life.

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Tales Of A Grown Girl: Sex, Drugs & Freedom © by Yolanda Brathwaite

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic without written permission of both author and publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 9780692187357

Editors: Author Tee Marie, INC; Prspctv Photography

For more information, please visit www.growngirlsnyc.com

IG: @growngirlsnyc_inc

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Back and inside cover photo by Steve Williams Photography Stylist Peta Gaye

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

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Printed in the United States of America

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Dedication

I dedicate this book to my younger self. Girl, you know you put us through some crazy shit! Why did you decide to make the crazy ass choices that you made coming up?

The men, the drugs, the reckless behavior. I mean why didn’t you speak up for yourself? You had no idea of your worth! It’s a miracle you didn’t get your dumb ass killed. But, because of the life you lived, this is our third published book. Sister Code and A Girl’s Pep Talk preceded this project. You are now an AwardWinning Author on your way to being a screenplay writer! If only you could see what your Freedom looks like today. I ain’t mad at you at all girl. You did the best you could with what you had. What I admire about you is that you’ve never let your trauma keep you down and you have continuously learned from your mistakes by living your life unapologetically. I still have that trait today. You would be proud of the Grown Girl that you’ve become!!

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my husband, Anthony. You took a broken girl as I was and loved me beyond my past by accepting me, flaws and all. Even though you knew about my past, you never judged me or made me feel ashamed. This ain’t no confession book! I love you to the moon and beyond.

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Disclaimer

*This book is categorized as realistic nonfiction. In other words, some of these stories are told as they happened and some have been altered to respect the innocent. Any character likeness may be a pure coincidence. The names of the characters have been changed to protect the innocent and the stories have been altered. But don’t get it twisted, a lot of this shit actually happened! If you are easily triggered by sexual abuse, physical abuse, suicide, neglect or drug use, please take care before deciding to read this book. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

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Synopsis

Michelle Belle wasn’t always the Grown Girl that you see today. Hell no! Her life started in the rough Projects of Brooklyn, NY known as Pink

Houses. Once her mom, Darius, decided to move to the suburbs with her only child, life started to change for the worse for the now teenager. There, she met her two best friends, Taylor and April, where together they would shake up Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn! This wild trio would experience life, death, drugs, sex, and abuse throughout their high school years. Coming up in the 90’s was primetime for the crack epidemic, single parents (in some cases no parents), and poverty in black communities. Follow the journey of Michelle and her girls and find out how they managed to survive with the hands that they were dealt.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Disclaimer

Synopsis

CHAPTER ONE

Movin’ On Out!

CHAPTER TWO

High School Here I Fucking Come!

CHAPTER THREE

Cherry Day

CHAPTER FOUR

Sex and Drugs

CHAPTER FIVE

Sometime In The 90’s…

CHAPTER SIX

Hello Cocaine, It’s Nice To Meet You

CHAPTER SEVEN

To Graduate Or Not To Graduate?

Epilogue

About The Author

Stay In Touch

Resources

CHAPTER ONE

Movin’ On Out!

Living in the suburbs of Long Island was no better than living in Pink Houses, one of the many projects of Brooklyn. Between the sex, drugs, incest and molestation all I wanted to know was, when would my freedom come?! The projects back then were a place where families looked out for each other’s kids and black mothers had a community of support throughout the building. Be that as it may, it was NEVER the best place for children to grow up. As my mom’s friends started to find better places to raise their children (by moving to the suburbs), my mother made a similar decision. We were moving to the suburbs! I was approaching middle school when moms made the move. All I could think was, Oh shit, here we go!

Who are we? I’m Michelle Bell, but my friends call me Tee Tee. My mother’s name was Darius and she wasn’t raised in the kind of city she was raising me. She grew up in the South. North Carolina to be exact. Her moms was constantly in and out of her life. She had a father she barely knew and no siblings. Life was hard for her and she never let me forget it; she constantly reminded me of that shit, over