Acknowledgements
My journey to becoming a published author has not been easy, but had it not been for the support that I have received along the way I would not be where I am today.
Thanks to God for allowing my dream to come true, and for speaking to my spirit when I felt like giving up.
Thanks to my editors, Carla Dean and Christopher Greene, for doing such a great job helping me get Keepin' It Tight polished up.
This has been a looooooong bumpy ride for my family, but at the finish line the reward is sweet. Thanks to my husband, Anthony (Bootsy) Dowdell, who has been patient most days and stood over my shoulder while I attempted to complete a chapter or two on others. Either way, thanks for staying by my side through this journey. You know I love you, Bootsy.
Kimbria, Athena, and Anthony, thanks for helping momma out by keeping your chores done, helping select my book cover, and being so understanding as I spent hours at my computer working on Keepin' It Tight. I love and appreciate each one of you. You all have a light to shine on this world, so always be true to yourselves and follow your dreams I want to shout out to all of my aunts and uncles: Gwendolyn Purter, Cheryl Greene, Charles Greene, Stephanie Terry, Rex Greene, Christopher Greene, Louise Abdullah, Brenda Woods, Denise McNeil, Carla McNeil, Michael McNeil, and Melvin Freeman. Each of you had a unique hand in helping raise me.
THANK YOU! (You too, Shareef) To my great grandmother (Madea), thank you for your pearls of wisdom along the way. A lot of the woman who I am today, I owe to you.
To my grandmothers Betty Greene and Lillie Pearl Robinson.
Two women that I can't see myself living without, I love you.
Valerie Ball, my mother, thanks for always pushing me to heights I never knew I could reach. I love you momma (and yeah, I'm going back to nursing school one day soon :). To Michael Ball, my stepfather, your encouragement really means a lot to me. It's people like you that feed the soul of a dreamer like myself.
To my father, Caron Knox, thanks for always holding a special place in your heart for me. You took a fatherless child like myself and embraced me like your own. Thanks for your continued support and presence in my life. I love you and Mrs. Lou.
To Lewis and Jacquelyn Dowdell, my father and mother in law, who treat me just like I'm the daughter they never had, I love you guys!