The Relationship of Me: An Introduction to the Pink Soldier

By Susan Weatherspoon El-Amin, Dr. Abena Ngozi and Dr. Nicoa Garrett

Life is an exchange of experiences that we continue to build on as we age. In The Relationship of Me, Susan expresses, releases, honors, and accepts who she is as a mother, grandmother, daughter, Army Veteran, Nurse, advocate, and student of this life. This book describes the pain of loss, the joy of love, and the journey in betwee

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zyia Christian Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Aug 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798869230829

Susan Weatherspoon El-Amin

Life is an exchange of experiences we continue to build on as we age. In The Relationship of Me, Susan expresses, releases, honors, and accepts who she is as a mother, grandmother, daughter, Army Veteran, Nurse, advocate, and student of this life. This book describes the pain of loss, the joy of love, and the journey in between, consisting of wins and losses that we all experience at some point in our lives. Our life stories may differ. However, the emotional turmoil that change brings is consistent for us all. Susan offers the invitation to open your mind and allow yourself to find a piece of "you" in the stories, poetry, or sidebar conversations. The hope is that through reading The Relationship of Me, it will create an opening in your soul for growth and healing.

Book preview

The Relationship of Me: An Introduction to the Pink Soldier

Copyright © 2023 Susan Weatherspoon El-Amin

The The Pink Pink Soldier Soldier

Army Veteran | Veteran Advocate | Public Speaker

pinksoldiersunited.com

[e-mail]

Facebook: Pink Soldiers United

All rights reserved. Reproduction, storage, or transmission of any part of this book in any form, including electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or others, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the publisher. However, brief quotations for critical reviews or articles are allowed.

All Biblical Scriptures were taken from resources found on

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/ website.

Zyia Christian Publishing, LLC

[e-mail]

Distributed by IngramSpark.

ISBN: 979-8-218-26463-5

E-ISBN: 979-8-869-23082-9

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Dedication

I want to dedicate this piece of my heart to my children (Brittany, Tiffany, and Michael, Jr). We always called ourselves The Posse, and we still are! I love you wholeheartedly, and this book expresses the foundation of that love! To my Mom and Dad, Sam and Janice Weatherspoon, you raised us to be conscious fighters, and without that fight, I would not be here today. I love and miss you so much. You are My Posse, and I Love you with my whole heart! This book is also dedicated to a man who encouraged me to see my abilities and who I am. He loved me into a place where I could navigate the waters of my soul - my late husband, Ramziddin El-Amin. I kept my word, and I will keep talking. I will always love you, El!

Acknowledgment

First and foremost, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, His Loving Angels, and my Ancestors. It is because of my gaining in an understanding of what it means for God to love you that I was able to make it to this point in my life. To the Angels for watching over me, and to my Ancestors for having a strength of ‘never quitting’ will that resonated in my spirit throughout my life. It is with Love, Honor, and Pride that I salute you.

To my Parents, who are no longer walking this Earth, I say to your spirit, Thank You for loving, raising me, teaching me that life is not just about me, and giving me the support that I never had to question, because it was always there. Through this, I can contribute to helping others and allow love to win anyhow. Dad, I thank you for making me and my sisters feel special. People use the title ‘King’ with little thought and don’t realize what it truly takes to cover a family. You did that, Dad, and made it look effortless. I dedicate the part of this book that speaks to soldiers to you, because of the Decorated Vietnam Veteran you were. I could not have soldiered as effectively without your guidance and love. Mommy, you were so beautiful, strong, tough, and hardworking, and you loved your children with everything in you. You taught me and my sisters how to always maintain our lives and livelihood, whether single or with a partner. You raised us to always have compassion for others, to keep church in our life, put family first because ‘we all we got", and that it takes work with education to have anything in life. We understood and respected that school of thought, which has kept us grounded. Dad and Mom, I love you so much, and I miss you.

To my siblings, we had a very eclectic life as military brats that led us to travel and meet different people and cultures. We have always been a very tight-knit family, and being the baby girl, I learned from all of you. I thank you for your loving guidance through the years. I thank you for your protection, for teaching me to fight physically and mentally, how to cook and drive, and you blocked me from the negative habits in the world. I realize that being taught to love anyhow by Dad and Mom helped us move past unhappy experiences and to remain connected, because we always choose love. Loving you always!

To my family, thank you for loving me, always being there, and keeping me grounded. The best is yet to come! Blessings! I love you, Suzette, and I miss you.

To my late husband, Ramzi, when I questioned myself, you would tell me, You can do anything you set your mind on. He was always a cheerleader for my goals and dreams. I learned through many experiences who I was and was not during our time together. Those experiences are in my heart and have turned into wisdom. Ramzi, I will always love you.

To my grandchildren, I love you very much.

Special Mentions

Daphne, Felicia, and Mark - Thank you for understanding who I am and seeing parts of me that I couldn’t see for a very long time. Your friendship and counsel have blessed me, and I am thankful I can call each of you friend!

To Patricia Porter, you listened when no one else did. Our sisterhood is close to my heart. I love you for being that person who I could depend on for thirty-six years to sound out my ideas, read my poetry, and vent. You are appreciated and loved more than you know. Always!

To Anissa Marie for teaching me that it’s okay to soar even if you must do it by yourself.

Special Thank You

Ms. Suzie J. and Dr. K., for your continued encouragement in the face of what is best for me versus what is popular.

I want to thank all my friends who have been in my life since childhood and those that I became friends with along the way. I would not be who I am if Andrea Denise Bell, Iveena Burton Henderson and Elizabeth Hampton Farmer were not my childhood friends. It takes a village to raise a child, and their mothers were instrumental in raising me. I have been fortunate to meet gifted people who have left a gold nugget of wisdom that increased my growth as a young girl and woman. Thank you for listening to me as I prepared, dreamed, and envisioned this day. Thank you for always being there. And even as we have aged with not seeing one another or speaking often, it’s always like yesterday when we do. Love you!

Finally, I have a message for my children. Life will always have storms, big and small. Yet, through the storms, we made it to the other side. There are always remnants of the past that cling, and we must choose how we move forward addressing those remnants. This book was partially written out of the shifting ideology that I have begun to call an evolving faith and belief system. Choice is the most important option we can ever have in life. Despite life’s traumas and our parent-child communication issues, I raised three highly intelligent, amazing kids.

My prayer is that the remnants of this book will bear fruit and break chains. I raised the three of you with high expectations, and you are innovators working on finding your path. You have everything you need inside of you to live the life you choose. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. I love you with everything in me. I would not be The Pink Soldier if not for Brittany, Tiffany, and Michael, Jr. ~ Mommy

To my sisters, Female Soldiers, a.k.a. ‘Pink Soldiers’, I love you all. May God bless and keep you!

Credits

I would like to give credit to the following:

Dennis King Thesis Williams, Tattoo Artist: Thank you, nephew, for your creative and artistic eye with the design for the cover of this book. It’s just the beginning! Blessings!

Linktr.ee/kingthesis

Marcus Doss, Celebrity Stylist: Thank you and your team for A+ treatment. Marcus, you started the ‘Glam Up’ with my hair. You and your team wrapped your arms around me for my photoshoot and made the experience super fun and exciting. Blessings!

Marcus Doss Salon

2203 Southern Ave.

Fayetteville, NC 28306

[phone]

Terrell Allison, Stylist/Make-up Artist: Thank you for the ‘Glam Up’ and for treating me like a diamond. Blessings!

2203 Southern Ave.

Fayetteville, NC 28306

[phone]

James ‘Soopaman’ Badger, Photographer: Thank you for your professionalism and gentle kindness during the photoshoot and beyond. Blessings!

To My Publishing Team: Thank you so much for your patience, encouragement, and creative assistance in completing this project. Thanks for seeing my vision and helping me to make it plain. Becoming a Kingdom Author is an honor. We’re just getting started! Blessings!

Dr. Nyisha D. Davis

The Book Birthing Midwife

Zyia Christian Publishing, LLC

www.TheBookBirthingMidwife.com

To Christopher Weaver, Public Relations: Thank you for your insight, encouragement, and assistance in all areas of the #PinkSoldiersUnited brand. You are a blessing to me and Pink Soldiers. Blessings!

Foreword

The Pink Solder, also known as Susan Weatherspoon El-Amin, is brilliant, strong, and graceful. She speaks with authority, yet humble as a lamb. She can take on troops while meeting the needs of the broken-hearted. She offers solutions to problems and guidance for anyone feeling lost. Her story is the greatest story told because it is hers!

When she speaks, everyone listens. Her words are filled with compassion touching the hearts of many, causing action and change. She knows and understands her value. Her past does not dictate her future. Her faith in God and self-confidence coincide with her purpose.

Susan is a Pink Soldier with a heart of gold. Her life story caused my heart to leap for change, justice, compassion, understanding, love, forgiveness, and opportunities for women to be free to tell their personal lived experiences that can change the trajectory of someone’s life.

This is a powerful book. It will encourage, inspire, and create room for Pink Soldiers to have safe spaces to share their life stories that will forever impact the world, making it a better place. Susan’s journey is intriguing and enlightening.

A familiar scripture says, God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. (Psalm 46:5, KJV) Life events, good or