Still Rising from Ashes

Charlene grew up poverty-stricken in the Bronx, New York. As a child, she bore witness to the streets decimating her family. Her mother’s relationships with men turned abusive as her crack cocaine addiction grew. Her brothers traded their innocence for lives of crime, and church dances with child hood friends and neighborhood sweet hearts became nightclub shootings with gang bangers and bad boys. Anger burned in Charlene so blindingly, it led her to the same dark streets that sparked her rage in the first place. There would be much more pain before she’d find her way again, but the fire of faith burns brighter than that of anger. Soon, the poverty from whence Charlene came would be but ashes. Then, the real work would begin.