Life From The Stoop

Life From The Stoop is a touching memoir of a resilient Puerto Rican girl exposed to a loving but dysfunctional family filled with alcohol, sex, and violence. Her faith and loyalty to her mother, as well as angels in her path, allowed her to leave the projects unscathed. The memoir begins with the murder of her father and follows her mother's journey as a single mother and eventual death. Although the journey is one riddled with chaos, it is also filled with love, determination, and faith. "Sitting around the kitchen table exchanging stories and memories in our family is quite different than other families. Stories quickly will include moments of fright, hunger, death. We laugh like other families because that's all that you can do - laugh." Life From The Stoop is a reaffirming story of faith and hope.

Elizabeth Mejia has a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Connecticut. Her undergraduate degree was in Sociology and Social Work. She spent fifteen years working with battered women and addressing women’s issues. She was a delegate for the state of Connecticut at the Women’s World Conference in Beijing. Her belief in the importance of education as the key to break the cycle of poverty, led her to her position as Executive Director of Communities In Schools of Miami, an affiliate of the largest stay-in-school non-profit organization dedicated to keeping students at risk of academic failure in school and achieving in life (www.cismiami.org). Mrs. Mejia, a strong Catholic and feminist, serves as a motivational speaker for school groups, church retreats for youth and women, and for community special events. She is a trainer on multiple topics covering gender, cultural, and communication issues. She has won several awards including the Mayor’s Pioneer Award and the Movers and Shakers Award. She is married to Francisco Mejia and has two daughters, Elyssa and Raquel, and two grandchildren, Isabella and Nicolas, and hopes to have more. Life From The Stoop is her first novel. Mrs. Mejia enjoys reading, photography, drawing, and traveling. She is an active member of her parish. For over 20 years she has served as a Catechist, living her commitment to bring hope, love, and faith to the next generation.