“Stories only happen to people who can tell them.” – Allan Gurganus

I’m a young and passionate writer and business entrepreneur! Originally hailing from Northern California, I was born in East Oakland in the late eighties to crack addicted parents and it was not long after my birth that I ended up among the thousands of children who enter the foster care system every year. Unlike most children who enter the system, I stayed with the same foster family until I was eighteen years old. I know that not many adults who went through the same system can say that, so I don’t take it for granted. I was lucky to not have been moved around throughout my experience, however, the particulars of the home situation gave birth to an entirely new set of issues.

I am an African American woman who was raised by a white foster family. My relationships with my biological family were almost completely severed by the time I was twelve. As an adult who can look at the whole of the picture, I am grateful for the experience because it allows me to tell incredible stories and shed a new light on topics that carry such heavy taboos in today’s society.

I had to learn to navigate my own way and carve a niche for myself in worlds that were completely different and many of my life experiences, even after I left my foster family’s home for college at eighteen, are centered around themes with racial implications. Even still, many of my experiences have nothing to do with race and have simply been a part of my human experience. Whether fact or fiction, all of my work stems from my vast array of experiences, observations, fantasies, and lessons learned.

I’ve battled my way through feelings of abandonment and displacement. I overcame depression and I escaped death by my own hand. I’ve also had my share of shining moments and triumphs. All of it, the good and the bad, has been a part of my incredible journey. It’s all made me into the woman I am today. I am proud of that woman, and I’d like to share and discuss my interpretations and stories of how I became this way, what I’ve come to understand, what I’m still trying to understand, and the wisdom I’m constantly discovering with anyone who is willing to receive; be it through blogging, poetry, or short stories.

My journey is just as spiritual as it is social, as refined as it is rugged, and I really hope that everyone who embarks on this path with me will appreciate my eclectic style of story telling as well as the products and services I offer.

-Dava