When the pressure of life seems to boil over – and it does for everyone – Pastor and GRAMMY-winning musician Smokie Norful has one piece of advice: take the lid off. This concept was inspired by watching his grandmother make her signature dish of sweet rice. When the heat got too high, the pot began hissing and boiling over, like it was about to explode and create panic. His grandmother would remind him the only way to avoid an eruption is to remove the lid. Like that pot of rice, the only way to avoid an emotional overload is to take our own lids off — that is, to stop being trapped inside ourselves and instead look to God and his grace to show us the strategy that makes us all he intends us to be, and serve him in the way he has called us to.
This is the premise behind Norful’s new book Take the Lid Off: Trust God, Release the Pressure, and Find the Life He Wants for You (Thomas Nelson), which is available as of TODAY. In Take the Lid Off, Norful — who is the founder and pastor of Victory Cathedral Worship Center, a congregation of 5,000 members with three campuses in the Chicagoland area — outlines four steps to take to relieving the pressure and drawing closer to God in the process:
1. Look Inward, experiencing the cleansing of forgiveness and the power of God.
2. Look Outward, seeking for others to experience the joy of living for God and have the best God has to offer.
3. Look Upward and marvel at God’s love and strength to accomplish his purposes.
4. Move Onward, devising a strategy to accomplish all God has put in our hearts to do.
Norful — through detailed explanations and relatable examples — guides readers in understanding that, when you focus on these four steps, the pressure of life goes down, you gain peace and perception, and things work out much better in the end. By working to “take the lid off,” readers can become the people they were created to be.
Interesting Biographical Highlights From Take the Lid Off :
*Norful is a PK (preacher’s kid).
*Prior to his music career, he worked as junior high school teacher in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where his father was the president of the local school board.
*Although Norful was a successful gospel artist, he was miserable at one point and had even stopped going to church.
*Fellow gospel artist Donnie McClurkin was instrumental in convincing Norful to become a pastor.
*Some people who supported Norful in his music career weren’t as supportive when he became a pastor.
*Norful’s GRAMMY Awards are displayed behind his sons’ trophies for karate, T-ball and soccer.
*When Norful became a pastor, he gave up 80 percent of his income for several years.
Check out the Take the Lid Off trailer below:
To underscore the message of Take the Lid Off Norful is partnering with his long-time label home, Motown Gospel, to release a digital-only album titled Nothing Is Impossible. The 12-track project, available Sept. 9, 2017, features some of Norful’s most beloved songs of encouragement and inspiration, including “Still Say Thank You,” “No One Else” and “Run Til I Finish.”
About the Author:
SMOKIE NORFUL is founder and senior pastor of Victory Cathedral Worship Center, a congregation on three campuses in Bolingbrook and Chicago, Illinois. A multiple Grammy-winning artist who has sold more than three million albums worldwide, he has also received Stellar awards; Dove awards; an NAACP Image Award nomination; a Soul Train Award nomination; two nominations for the BET Award for gospel music; two RIAA certified Gold-selling compact discs; and countless other accolades. A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, Norful also served on the board of regents for Trinity International University. He lives with his wife and family in the Chicago area.
Learn more about Norful at SmokieNorful.com, and connect with him
Since we’re just two days away from the return of OWN’s Greenleaf, I jumped at an opportunity to interview GregAlan Williams, who portrays the man we all love to hate – Robert “Mac” McCready – and who is also an accomplished writer! In fact, Williams just released the audio version of his novel Heart of a Woman, which he originally penned in 2009. Check out my interview with GregAlan Williams below! (The audio of the transcribed interview is below.)
1.You are well known as an actor with movie and television credits such Baywatch, The Game,NCIS: Los Angeles,Castle and many more and most recently Greenleaf. What prompted you to write a novel Heart of a Woman, and how did you find the time to write it?
Well, my first two books were non-fiction. I always wanted to write a novel, and I actually wrote Heart of a Woman in 2009. Well, actually, it took me four years. I started in 2005. It was published in 2009, and I just liked the long-form. I love screenplays, but I like the detail and the attention and the special skill that it takes to write in the novel form. And so I wanted to do that. I wanted to write a book for a target market or a constituency, in particular for women who remember the ‘60s and the ‘70s and that sort of thing, my peers. Because so much of African-American literature for women is sort of directed toward a younger group of women. I very much wanted to celebrate that time and women of that era and our shared memories.
2. According to the description of your novel, Heart of a Woman is about a woman who must “destroy her husband’s young mistress, enlist a murderer to catch a blackmailer, and in exchange for more than a million dollars, she must also seduce a slightly mad, man of God.” Not to mention that Marvin Gaye and Teddy Pendergrass are principal characters. How did you come up with this plot?
It really evolved around the protagonist, Jimi Stone. The book describes her as woman who has the ability to hear the hearts of strangers. As a polio victim, she had polio as a kid, there was a summer she was confined to her parents’ porch. Over the course of her life, she notices things. She sees things. She sees people, but perhaps most importantly, she hears them. And so all of her life, people would come to her and find themselves sharing their secrets with her.
Ultimately, as an adult, she finds herself working directly for Berry Gordy as his fixer, as his operative. And so the information that people have given her about themselves over the years, in particular, people in the entertainment industry, she’s retained all of that and so she uses that knowledge, that information, to fix things that have gone wrong. For example, in the book, a young, a young Motown star gets in trouble with the law and Berry Gordy dispatches her to fix it so as to preserve Motown’s good name. And she does, indeed, do that. She fixes it in a very complex way with a number of people, some good, some bad.
Did you have a writing coach to help you?
Well, I’ve been writing all of my adult life. I was a journalist in the Marine Corps. As a very young man, I used to write for Black Teen magazine, Right On, Soul Teen. There’s a radio station in the book that is based on a very famous radio station in Los Angeles KJLH. I had the good fortune to be hired as a copywriter for KJLH in 1980. So I’ve been writing for a long time. So you know, we sit down and we say let’s try this on. We write commercials or we write copy, and we write for magazines and newspapers and we write non-fiction books and then we sit down and say, ‘I wonder if I can write the ‘Great American Novel.’ So I sat down to write it and I’m a history buff, and it is historical fiction so I spent a lot of time in Detroit doing research there and of course so much of the book is set in Los Angeles, and I know that territory well. And I’m an E.L. Doctorow fan so this whole notion of mixing fictional and historical characters has always been very exciting to me.
E.L. Doctorow is a very famous writer, and he did that a lot. One of his most famous books is Ragtime, and I think Teddy Roosevelt was a character in the book. In fact, the movie version of the book was the movie that brought the late Howard Rollins to stardom. He starred on In the Heat of the Night for many years. So Ragtime was the first book of E.L. Doctorow’s that I read.
3. Heart of a Woman was originally released in 2009. What prompted you to revamp the novel with an audiobook?
I’ve wanted for years to sort of merge my skill as a writer with my skill as an actor and that was really the impetus. Let me now see if I can not only narrate the book, and that was the easy part, but let’s see if I can voice all of these characters in kind of a believable way.
4. I know that Greenleaf is filmed in Atlanta and the Greenleaf home is near New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and that you live in the Atlanta area as well. Why did you to leave Hollywood, move to Atlanta and create the Actor’s Breakthrough film actors training studio in the Atlanta area?
Yes, the Greenleaf mansion is right around the corner. Well, I had been on a television show for about 7 years, Baywatch. During that time, I had written a couple of non-fiction books and that had turned into a lot of speaking opportunities so I was doing a lot of speaking around the country. And I came to Georgia to speak at a fatherhood conference and I met some folks who were doing some very innovative work with fathers and families in middle Georgia.
So I decided to take a sabbatical for two years once I left the series in ’97. I went on sabbatical for two years and worked at a Headstart program in Macon, working with this fatherhood program so that’s what brought me to Georgia. So when that was done, and it was time to go back to L.A. and start acting again, I just decided to stay in Georgia and commute. There was no work in Georgia at that time so for years, I commuted out to L.A. and New York to work. And then as production began to soar here in Georgia, I was traveling a lot less and that gave me an opportunity to teach here in Atlanta. There’s not a whole heck of a lot of actors here who have my range of experience. There are some, but most, of course, are in L.A. and New York. And in particular, as it related to actors of color, it gave me an opportunity to mentor a number of actors and to help move them along in their careers.
Have you taught any actors who are recognized?
Not any names yet but plenty of folks who work. In fact, four of my students were on Greenleaf, and I had nothing to do with it. Because they had secured their own agents and auditioned and booked. And we have dozens of actors on all kinds of shows from Atlanta to Sleepy Hollow. We just had an actor who finished a movie with “The Rock” so we’re very excited and very proud that we have started a number of actors in the business, training them. They studied very hard and now they’re working professionals. I teach at the studio six hours every Saturday. We have other instructors, but I teach at the master level from about noon to 5 p.m.
5. Robert “Mac” McCready is the ultimate villain, and you portray him masterfully. Is there any part of Mac that you identify with, and what is your inspiration for portraying him?
Well, in the second season, I identify with Mac’s loneliness. And I will tell you what I mean. Because Mac has been found out and he’s estranged from the family, he’s very lonely. Family, believe it or not, is very important to Mac. The church is very important to Mac. And so Mac is estranged from both the church and the family and because Mac is estranged, that means that I am also separated from my acting family – Lynn and Keith because in the second season, really the only actor that I get to work with is Merle and that is wonderful and then some of the wonderful guest stars that we have. But I don’t get to see and work with some of these other folk that I love so much like Lamman and Kim and Deborah Joy Winans and all of those folks. I hardly see them so Mac and I we’re both lonely in that regard.
One of the things I teach is that when we take on characters whose values we don’t share, we tend to want to make those characters very different from ourselves and think of those characters as being very different, but here’s the truth. Mac is obsessed with his abusive behavior. He’s obsessed with 13, 14, 15-year-old girls, wholly inappropriate. So when you approach a character like Mac, I think the first thing you have to do is say, What do we have in common? Well, you know what? I’m not obsessed with 13,14, and 15-year-old girls, but I’ve been obsessed and I know what obsession is. I’ve been obsessed with some grown women. And as a much younger man, you know sort of out there dating, partying, certainly, on occasion have been less than honest, less than forthcoming about what my intentions were, etcetera, etcetera. I’m not a perfect guy so I have to look at as much as I want to be 180 degrees different, we have some things in common.
Or I’ve had some things in common so when you approach a character, because you cannot portray a character you don’t understand and you can’t portray a character who you wholly dislike. It’s impossible to step into that character’s life unless that character is self-hating and Mac is not self-hating. Sometimes, he is but most of the time, he is not. So one has to come to understand that and but that doesn’t mean approve of, but to understand and to be able to identify the rationalizations that he uses in order to engage guilt free in his predatory behavior.
Mac is also funny, particularly when he called his age-appropriate beard girlfriend Lorraine “bottom-shelf” & “off- brand.” Did you find that funny? I know it wasn’t supposed to be funny, but it was funny to me.
I think it was funny in its audacity. I mean, what you could do but laugh because it was so horrible. I have to say this, you see, this is why I love writers. Now when I first got the script, I looked at it, and I said, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t say this. This is horrible!’ See, left to me, the actor, if the writers had said to me, ‘Okay, GregAlan, here’s a moment when you need to put this woman in her place.’ I would have come up with some mundane curse words and this and that and the other. But this writer is so brilliant that they totally sidestepped the nasty language and came up with something so horrible. Bottom–shelf! Off-brand! When I first read it, I said, ‘I can’t say this.’ I said to my lady, ‘Girl, read this.’ (Laughter) She said, ‘You can’t say this.’ I said, ‘I know. I know.’ But you know that’s why I love writers – so innovative. I don’t think, maybe, you heard Mac curse once. I don’t think Mac curses. He is a good Christian, you see. So he would say something like that. That what makes him even all the more creepy because he’s a rapist. He’s an abuser. But yet he finds cursing perhaps to be a little beyond him. Isn’t that some madness?
6. I call Mac, “Mac the Molester.” How does one research being a “respectable” child molester?
Well, this speaks to the courage of the producers because people can’t molest children, most of the time, unless they are respectable. Ninety percent of child molesters are very respectable. That’s how they are able to do it. Sometimes, I ask my acting students, ‘How is it that a serial killer is able to kill serially?’ And they come up with all kinds of things. But the truth is it’s because he doesn’t seem to be a serial killer. In other words, he’s not just snatching people or banging people on the head. Oprah said that she wanted to show the audience that abusers are seducers, and that is what she has done and by extension, that is what the producers and writers have done.
So that is the truth, and that should forewarn viewers not to see the bogeyman under every bush but to understand that sometimes, the people we entrust our children to, those folk have positioned themselves in those respectable places in order to be able to hurt children.
7. What’s going to happen next Tuesday and Wednesday? Is Mac dead? Will he ever admit to molesting Faith? Did Mac see his sister Lady Mae molested by their father? If you can’t answer these questions, what can “Greenleafers” expect in this second half of Season 2?
Well, remember, in the first half of season 2, in episode 8, he did admit as he was choking Grace, he said, ‘They wanted it. I didn’t do anything they didn’t want me to do.’ So he did admit to essentially all of his crimes. As to whether he will live or die, I will say this to you: every goodbye ain’t gone.
Double Emmy Award-Winning Actor, Critically Acclaimed Author, Respected Educator, Prolific Speaker, Master Storyteller… these are just a few characteristics to describe the creative genius of Gregory Alan Williams! Widely known for his role (of seven seasons) as beach cop Garner Ellerbee on the most watched television show in the world, Baywatch, GregAlan is most recently recognized for his portrayal as prime-time television’s most hated villain, Robert “Mac” McCready, on OWN’s hit drama series, Greenleaf .
His 30-year Hollywood career began as a founding member of the world-renowned Penumbra Theater in St. Paul, MN. From there he went on to do stage work with Pulitzer Prize Winner, August Wilson, as well as the Chicago Shakespeare Repertory Theater,Chicago Theater Company, Mixed Blood Theater Company and Chicago’s Goodman Theater. To date, his broad list of acting credits include recurring roles on the ABC Network’s Secrets and Lies, BET’s The Game and HBO’s The Sopranos. His 250 prime-time appearances include The West Wing, NCIS: Los Angeles and Castle, just to name a few.
What’s more, his film career boasts 42 feature films, including celebrated classics such as Remember the Titans (Denzel Washington), In the Line of Fire (Clint Eastwood) and Old School (Will Ferrell). His recent film credits include, Terminator Genysis (Arnold Schwarzenegger ),Misconduct (Al Pacino), The Accountant (Ben Affleck), Hidden Figures (Taraji P. Henson) and so much more! In 2017, audiences will enjoy GregAlan in the upcomingBill Duke film, Created Equal as well as the highly anticipated faith-based films, A Question of Faith (Kim Fields and Richard T. Jones) and All Saints opposite John Corbett. GregAlan also founder and Dean of the Actor’s Breakthrough film actors training studio in Atlanta.
Although mental health issues within the black community is not as much of a taboo subject as it once was, I think we can all agree that there is still more work to be done. As a storyteller, I’m always drawn into issues through a great story, and Dr. Sheila D. Williams, author of “My Mother’s Keeper,” has a great story addressing mental health.
She was the one who gave birth to her, became her first friend and encouraged her to try school that scary kindergarten year, which led her to a lifelong love of education. Yet where author Dr. Sheila D. Williams learned most from her mother was during her mother’s battle with clinical depression and later diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Her autobiography, entitled “My Mother’s Keeper,” chronicles Sheila’s sometimes dysfunctional but endearing friendship with her mother, which endured a parental role reversal when her mother’s mental health issues forced Sheila to be responsible for herself at age ten. Sheila later details her memories of still seeing the embodiment of the Proverbs 31 woman within her mom, as she later became her mother’s primary caregiver. “My Mother’s Keeper ” is a moving tribute to the power of a mother-daughter bond that defied the odds, both externally and internally, and thrived in love until the end.
See my interview with Dr. Sheila D. Williams, who is a mental health therapist, author, motivational speaker and certified national trainer/educational consultant, below.
1.You were the primary caretaker for your mother from the age of 10 until she passed away years ago. Did you recognize the symptoms of her clinical depression? Is clinical depression in any way hereditary?
Yes, from the age of 10 years old, there was a role reversal that occurred between my mother and me. I found myself being more responsible for preparing my own meals, doing my own laundry, styling my hair, etc., often without the assistance of my mother. I was always a bit more mature for my age, however at 10 years old, it was a very pivotal point in our relationship in which I realized that it wasn’t because my mother didn’t want to assist me; it was because she mentally and physically could not. I found myself checking on her and making sure she was okay; this became my top priority.
At the age of 10, I did not know it was clinical depression, nor did she or my father. We simply knew that my mother was not well, and that she most often was fragile mentally and emotionally. Because her mental illness was inaccurately diagnosed, she associated the way she felt with a medical condition of some sort, and was treated with muscle relaxers, pain relievers, etc. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that she was diagnosed accurately.
Research indicates that there is a hereditary component to mental illness. However, environmental factors — life stressors, inability to cope, lack of strong support system, etc. — these external factors seem to be more influential on the likelihood a person will experience mental illness at some point in their lives.
2.Why did you write your book “My Mother’s Keeper” and what type of feedback have you received?
I wrote “My Mother’s Keeper” as a memoir for my mother and her legacy. Because she felt as if she were different, that she didn’t fit in, she was often embarrassed and ashamed. She didn’t feel that she was good enough. She thought that no one would care to hear her story. I always worked to dispel her insecurities, but it continued throughout her life. Before she passed away, she and I discussed me telling her story. The story of her life is an integral component of my life and my journey. I wrote “My Mother’s Keeper” not only as a memoir, but as an autobiography and introduction to my life’s story. I chose to be transparent about my life and mental illness, to not only bring hope and healing to anyone who is dealing with mental illness or any other life situations or circumstances, but also to those who are experiencing any other life situations or circumstances.
In your book, you stated that you were told by a guidance counselor in high school that college was “not for you.” How did you move past that negative critique and continue your education?
Throughout my entire life, I’ve always been a good student. I worked to excel in education and received numerous awards and recognition for my exceptional academic standing and participation in extracurricular activities and community service. With this track record, I always knew I wanted to attend college. Although I wasn’t sure how I’d pay for college, it was something I had planned to do since I was in middle school. When I was in 10th grade, the conversation about plans after high school was discussed with every student. After several meetings with my guidance counselor, I informed him that I had aspirations and intentions of attending college. He encouraged me to sign up to take the ASVAB military entrance exam and told me that he felt that college was ‘not for me.’ He never indicated why he felt this way, but clearly it could not have been because of my academic standing or my drive and determination.
Initially, I was devastated by this, but that devastation quickly turned and it became fuel for me to make my goal of attending college a reality. Not only did I want to make attending college a reality, I wanted to finish college, then complete an advanced degree and not have student loans once I finished. I was able to accomplish all of these goals. I now am very thankful that I had that experience as it increased my motivation and my ability to persevere. I exceeded my own expectations.
I am very excited to hear of the Governor’s Commission on Children’s Mental Health. In my experience, I often find that the mental health of children is often forgotten. It is important to understand that although children are resilient, they are the product of their environment, their circumstances, and their experiences. If they are in a home where there is domestic violence, verbal abuse, or even financial difficulties, this can have a negative impact on the child’s self-esteem, their ability to effectively communicate, their self-perception and the list goes on. If you compound these stated issues with having a parent or loved one who suffers from mental illness, it is an even much more critical case. If a parent suffers from mental illness, unless they are effectively managing their mental illness and receiving treatment, it could negatively affect their ability to care for their child. Much as was the case with my mother.
When a child is being raised by a parent who has a mental illness that is untreated, undiagnosed, and/or one who is stigmatized and embarrassed to get help, it often leaves the child in a state of confusion and insecurity, and with feelings of despair. This ultimately could lead to depression and other forms of mental illness in the child. It is my hope that the Governor’s Commission will address the whole child, taking into consideration that although the child himself may not have a mental illness, they may be dealing with adult responsibilities at home, which may include a parent or caregiver that suffers from mental illness — all of which may negatively affect that child’s emotional and psychological well-being.
4. As a Christian, how does your Christian faith affect your career in the mental health field?
As a Christian, my belief is that we are all here for a purpose. I believe that my purpose here is to change lives and create positivity in a world that is often very negative. As a proponent and an advocate for mental health, I feel very blessed to have been born to my mother (and my father). The experiences we have throughout life can at times be very challenging; however, I believe that with each challenge there is also opportunity. As a very young child, I didn’t understand what was going on with my mother.
By the age of 10, I realized my mother was different and that her difference made her even more beautiful. Later in life she was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which compounded her disability from being one that couldn’t be seen (depression) to one that physically was quite visible with her fingers, arms and legs all contracted. Even so, she was still beautiful. I came to realize the beauty in even my challenges and imperfections. I believe that this is what life is all about.
My Christian faith lets me know that although we enjoy personal growth and accomplishments, our true joy and life’s blessings are obtained when we find ways to give to others; that is what brings me the most satisfaction. My experiences, both personal and professional, with mental illness have been a gift. The knowledge I’ve obtained has been a blessing. It is my purpose to further educate, motivate and empower others to silence the shame that is associated with mental illness and to embrace our differences, no matter what those differences may be.
5. How prevalent is mental illness in the black community, and what can the black church do to support mental health awareness and treatment?
Within the black community, the subject of mental illness is still very taboo, unfortunately. There are many people within the black community who have undiagnosed mental illness or have been diagnosed with a mental illness, but chose not to take medication or get therapy. These individuals, unfortunately, are suffering in silence. By failing to see a mental health professional, to follow up with treatment or refusing to take prescribed psychotropic medications, their mental illness not only affects them, but it affects their families, loved ones and the entire community.
As a Christian woman, I have a strong faith, and believe in God and the power of prayer. However, at times in the black church we fail to acknowledge and expound upon the importance of physical and mental health. Although prayer and motivation are important, and I personally know the benefits of each, it is also important for the black church to encourage and promote mental health awareness. We often seek the help and advice of medical physicians, but we fail to seek that same help and assistance from mental health professionals when our emotional and psychological well-being is in jeopardy. I feel it a responsibility of all of us to promote and encourage 360 degrees of wellness, and this includes our mental health.
6. What are your favorite topics to speak on as a motivational speaker and why?
My favorite speaking topic is The Transformational Mindset. I truly enjoy speaking on this topic because I am a firm believer and it is my motto that ‘Our Thoughts Become Our Reality.’ Regardless of what age, gender, culture or religious beliefs my audience is, this applies to everyone. We often get accustomed to thinking a certain way, which leads us to believe certain things. These belief systems (which sometimes can be flawed or misconceptions) tend to cause us to speak and behave a certain way. By speaking and acting upon misconceptions or negative beliefs, we hinder productivity and the likelihood of personal and professional growth.
The Transformational Mindset is a way of life. I began my journey of transformation at 10 years old. Rather than seeing my mother’s differences, her mental illness, etc., as a weakness, I saw it as a strength. I embraced those differences and used them to change my insecurities into strengths. I was able to see my mother’s mental illness as a blessing and an opportunity to learn more about who I am, embrace that person wholeheartedly and be a blessing to others.
7. What has been your biggest victory as a mental health therapist?
During high school, I wanted to be an astronaut and was very good in math and decided to major in it once I got to college. However, with the symptoms my mother exhibited, they didn’t seem to match the diagnoses that the physicians were giving her. I started to read up on her symptoms on my own, as I was always a bit of a researcher, even at an early age. The study of psychology not only sparked my interest, but also educated me on many of the emotions I had myself. It was through these readings and research that I decided to change my major to psychology rather than math. It was less than one year after I graduated with my BA in psychology that my mother finally was correctly diagnosed with clinical depression.
After completing my BA in psychology, I went on to pursue and complete my MA in mental health counseling. In addition, I earned a Ph.D. in education and leadership. I’ve worked for many years as a mental health therapist and counselor. Having the educational knowledge, the professional experience and personal experience of caring for my mother who suffered from mental illness has all been a blessing. It was destined that this would be my career path.
My biggest victory is not only being able to survive the many challenges I’ve faced in my life, but to be able to thrive while doing it. Everything that happens happens for a reason. I believe that my experiences were not only lessons for me, but what I’ve learned from those experiences has afforded me the opportunity to use those lessons in a positive way to assist others on their journeys as well. This has been the biggest victory of all.
If you would like more information about Dr. Sheila D. Williams, please go to her website drsheiladwilliams.com.
5. Robert “Mac” McCready is the ultimate villain, and you portray him masterfully. Is there any part of Mac that you identify with, and what is your inspiration for portraying him?
She was the one who gave birth to her, became her first friend and encouraged her to try school that scary kindergarten year, which led her to a lifelong love of education. Yet where author Dr. Sheila D. Williams learned most from her mother was during her mother’s battle with clinical depression and later diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Her autobiography, entitled 
