My Child,
I will nurture you to treat those different from you equally.
I will guide you to become your best version, soaring above the clouds, living on purpose.
I will not seek to control you as I raise you.
I will let you be who you are meant to be.
My love lasts
forever.
This is a story of strength, resilience and endurance.
This is the story of many women’s journeys.
This is a story that calls for empowerment of equality, of love and of worth.
This is a story of freedom. The freedom for all people to have the same rights.
In an evolved world, this story would never have needed to be written, yet in fact it is vitally needed in ours.
Truthfully, this is NOT a story. This is a testimony to propel global societies into action towards Love, Dignity and Respect.
This is a story of one woman's journey
HAD I KNOWN that I would experience the powerful passion, inspirational force and gentle voice of Francisca Mandeya in 2019, I would have found some way to time travel long ago.
This book is not just to be read, it is to be experienced, used as a handbook, a reference manual, a teaching tool and a living document.
When I consider how fortunate I was to have raised my 3 sons into men who all love, honour and respect three powerful and brilliant women, I take pause to reflect that had I lived in a different time or place that may never have been permitted to happen.
This issue is not unique to cultures outside North America, despite some progress within the past generation, it remains among us, in our communities and attitudes.