Walk alongside LaKeisha Barron-Brown in her memoir Through the Eyes of a Crack Soul as she delves deeply into her past traumas and successes.
From the moment LaKeisha was born, her life was all about insecurity, being exposed to things beyond her years, and growing up too quickly. She loved her mother and her father, but they were addicts. Addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling they took risks every day to feed their addictions while trying to be there for LaKeisha and give her what she needed as a baby and small child. It didn't last long. LaKeisha's father was shot to death when she was three years old. Less than five years later her mother was also murdered.
LaKeisha's life quickly changed when she was taken in by her aunt and uncle and moved from Detroit to Charleston, West Virginia. No one would talk about her mother or her death or how she felt about anything. While LaKeisha had a home to live in and family around, she still was lonely and never felt fully accepted as a daughter by her aunt and uncle, who now demanded she call them, "mom" and "dad."
It wasn't just not being a "real" part of the family, LaKeisha never felt heard by her parents and couldn't talk to them, or anyone else about her feelings of anger, loneliness, and the traumas that shaped her life. With the help of her first boyfriend, Brian, in her late teens, LaKeisha finally felt brave enough talk about the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of a family member.
Shuffling between different schools and being one of few Black students was difficult and LaKeisha faced blatant racism many times. Finally, after demanding to go to a school with more Black students, LaKeisha was able to focus on her goals and aspirations and how to achieve them.
LaKeisha pushed through the pain and trauma of her young life and graduated from high school and college and is now helping others work through their pain.
