Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikkita Moore.
Mikkita, please share your story with us.
The book started because I was in a very negative space in my life and I didn’t want my life stories to be lost in a journal in my basement. I wanted my life stories to be something my children’s, children’s children could find and read for years to come. I wrote my book in my truth. We are constantly taught structure every day but I am not teaching structure with my book, I am talking about my life, I am reliving my truth.
With this book, I also wanted to reach you, my audience on a level that’s different from the rest. I needed to reach an audience that hasn’t heard about the Black girl from the south side of Chicago that wasn’t poor and not knowing where her next meal would come from. The girl that her mother wasn’t a drug addict, father wasn’t a drug pusher. I got tired of the stereotypes that I had to be from this family or that kind of family because I had my children at 14 years old. My all-time favorite was the one that says teenage moms can’t raise their children effectively or the one that says teenage moms are all high school dropouts.
My book is not about the average poor Black girl living in poverty. This book is about my life, from a perspective of a teenage mom that didn’t struggle, that didn’t drop out of high school but in fact, graduated high school a year ahead of time with honors. This book is my life from a perspective that thought about suicide, went through domestic violence, emotionally mentally and physically. This book talks from a perspective of not feeling the love of a father searching for that type of love from boys/men that either couldn’t give it or just didn’t know how to give.
My book talks about parenting a child that’s different from the rest of her five children. Wondering where I went wrong as a parent, or as a real mother. Why is it that this one child just can’t be okay… my book comes from real life situations that happen in our community far to often and overlooked because it’s not society’s “norm”.
The Art of Transparency Tour gives people like myself the platform to tell their stories to an audience of all kinds. The tour consists of personal testimonies of others, spoken word artists, as well as other entertainment performers. The Art of Transparency is not rehearsed or set up as a performance, it is based on real-life situations brought to the forefront for others to hear. The mission is to help as many people as we can with our stories of how we have also had hard times yet made it through. We want others to know that there is a way to get through any situation life throws their way. The tour is based out of Chicago but has traveled to St. Louis, MO as well as Memphis, TN with plans for Atlanta, GA, South Carolina, Mississippi, and California in the next couple of years. The mission is to reach as many cities, states, and people as we can with The Art of Transparency.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, not at all… this journey has had a lot of bumps and potholes in it… after writing my book and doing the first full years tour, I became very depressed in 2017… I moved back to Chicago from St. Louis in May of 2017 after being gone for 3.5 years. I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders all over again. I felt unwanted, unloved and lonely on a daily basis. I felt like there was no one to turn to or talk to. I fell into a very deep depression and was put on anti-depressant medication as well as taken off of work for almost 4 months. It took counseling, medication and a whole lot of prayer to pull me through that. As of today, I still have my battles but I am doing a lot better.
Please tell us about The Art of Transparency Tour.
The Art of Transparency Tour gives people like myself the positive platform to tell their stories to an audience of all kinds. The tour consists of personal testimonies of others, as well as myself, while also providing entertainment such as spoken word artists, singers, monologues, praise dancers, musicians and other entertainment performers. The Art of Transparency is not rehearsed or set up just as a performance, it is based on real-life situations brought to the forefront for others to hear. The mission is to help as many people as we can with our stories of how we have also had hard times yet made it through. We want others to know that there is a way to get through any situation life throws their way. We provide a positive platform for personal testimonies through the art of transparency.
What sets is apartment from others is that we are Christian based but not a church. We tell real stories and allow people to come as they are without judgment.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have allowed God to lead from the beginning and not allow wanting to be “known” and sell tickets to be my focus. I would allow God to send those that was supposed to be apart of the journey to be apart of the journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.invisibledaughter.com
- Phone: 773-750-0530
- Email: letterinvisibledaughter@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letterinvisibledaughter/
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
