Janet Mock – Redefining Realness
Everyone else was telling me that I was wrong, that who I thought I was, was incorrect and that I should try to change. And I think we are all met with that same kind of chatter and challenge as we navigate through the world and search for our own identity, right? I know for me I found so much strength in my own experience and journey through reading other books, some of the more influential books in my life were Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and the entire book is about a young woman, mixed race woman, who is fighting for her own sense of identity. She is searching for herself and it was one of the first books that I ever read that led a woman to be so unapologetic about putting herself first and her search for self first.
And that just inspired me, reading that growing up, and so I think that’s why I wanted to write Redefining Realness for myself so that I could also give that as a gift to other woman and show them a life map for transformation and for changing their own lives and putting themselves first in their own journey.
Marlise: I had a conversation with Phylicia Rashad about how she ended up to be such a powerhouse. I mean look at her talent and just who she is as a human being is extraordinary. And, she grew up in Houston, Texas with racial challenges at every turn. She said ‘my mother told me I would do great things’. So, for some people being challenged is what drives them to the top – and for others it’s hearing how great you are that allows you to become that. What made you realize that you would one day be doing exactly what you are doing now?
