An Interview with Dr. Marie Melanie Brown Mercadel about Her Inspirational Book on Faith and Survival, “Getting to My Enough”

In this day and age, when we are constantly bombarded with negativity and stress, finding inspiration is like finding an oasis in a desert. That’s why I’m excited to share with you an exclusive interview with Dr. Marie Melanie Brown Mercadel, a renowned entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and author of “Getting to My Enough: A Story of Faith, Resilience, and Survival.” Dr. Mercadel’s book is an eye-opening memoir that takes readers on a journey of her struggles and triumphs in life. Through the power of faith, resilience, and survival, Dr. Mercadel shares the lessons she learned along the way, inspiring readers to find their own “enough” in life.

Tell us about your book? My memoir, Getting To My Enough, chronicles my journey of persevering through unspeakable childhood sexual trauma, the loss of a baby as a teenager, and my resolve to get to my enough. I provide frank and detailed descriptions of my life experiences while providing proof that it is possible to achieve personal triumphs in spite of the odds.

I write about the deep-seated emotions that caused me to be overwhelmed with self-doubt, fear, and shame for much of my adult life. My story reveals how a broken and damaged girl gained inner peace, affirmed the positive aspects of my life, and embarked on a mission to mentor and motivate women dealing with similar issues.

What is the PRIMARY benefit, above all others, that your potential reader will gain from reading this book? My readers will benefit from gaining an understanding of how unresolved childhood trauma could impact their psychological and psysiological well-being in adulthood, and the importance of being in tune to their own mental wellness.

If you had to compare this book to any other book out there, which book would it be? Recently I read Viola Davis’ memoir titled “Finding Me”, in her book she described her own experiences with childhood trauma, damaged self-esteem, her belief that she was unseen and unheard as a child, and living with a general feeling of worthlessness. Yet, somehow as an adult, she managed to transform her self-hate, anger, and fear of rejection into a powerful determination to succeed. Each adverse experience she dealt with in her early life fueled her desire to ‘be better’ and to ‘do better’; once she found her voice and began her process of healing – she broke through her emotional barriers and excelled.

Nearly every word Ms. Davis wrote resonated with me. The abuse I suffered caused me to deal with low self-esteem, and I internalized my anger, pain, shame, and blame. Similar to her story, I write about my process of learning how to release my negative thoughts and focus on the positive aspects of my life. This decades long exploration of understanding who I was allowed me to realize what I was capable of, I earned a doctorate, served as an executive leader in the field of human services for 20+ years, and launched a successful coaching business that is focused on helping women heal.

Hundreds of thousands of books come out every year. Why should someone buy THIS book? In my memoir, I speak directly and authentically about my childhood experiences including sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence between my parents, being forced to have an abortion, infidelity in my current marriage, my struggles as a black executive, and my personal mental health. As a former human services executive, I perfromed roles that required me to define policies and processes for hundreds of employees who provided services to vulnerable populations – yet I neglected my own mental health for years.

In the Black community, we don’t speak openly about mental health because it is taboo. My book will serve as a reminder that you can be educated, wealthy, well-traveled, and suffer from anxiety and depression. This book will encourage people to accept that it is okay not to be okay and to seek the therapeutic interventions that are needed to be healthy.

Who is your target audience? My target audience is women between the ages of 18-65, residing in the United States with interest in mindfulness, healing, mental health, and post-traumatic growth. In addition, many Black readers may connect to my story because there is a stigma in our community surrounding mental health that prevents people from seeking the help that they need. There are some beliefs including that needing mental health services are a sign of weakness, that we are not strong enough in our faith if we seek therapeutic interventions, and having a mental health disorder is a sign of a character flaw. I am seeking to reduce this long-held belief.

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? Absolutely. I understood the pain of feeling emotionally isolated and believing that I didn’t have anyone in my life who understood the effects of my experience. I have such empathy for others, and I loved working in the community and doing things to positively impact people’s lives. My goal was to help at-risk and vulnerable populations to access the services and supports they needed to thrive. My work was a significant part of my healing process.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since publishing your work? As part of my platform, I hold Sip & Heal book forums with women across the country. I read exerpts from my book and we have discussions using guided questions. Many of the attendees have experienced their own breakthroughs and have spoken about their trauma for the first time. These events allow me to give women a safe-space to talk and know that they are not alone, that they deserve to heal, and that resources are available to help them. I am rewarded by the fact that I can help others heal through my story.

How would you describe your writing style? My style of writing for this memoir is narrative, my goal in writing this book was to take my reader through a no-frills description of my life from early childhood through adulthood.

Are your characters pure fiction, or did you draw from people you know? Every person mentioned in my story are people I know and most of the names are pseudonyms to protect the indentity of some friends and family.

Are you more of a character artist or a plot-driven writer? My memoir is character-driven as I am seeking to connect with the reader on an emotional level through my descriptions of my experiences. The reader will be able to see the transformation in my life as I start to recover and thrive from the abuse I suffered as a child and achieve my personal and professional golas as an adult.

What do you hope to accomplish with your book other than selling it? My primary goal is to educate readers about the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse, the psychological impact of adverse childhood experiences could have in adulthood, and the importance of mental wellness.

How can our readers get in touch with you?

www.mercadelconsultingsolutions.net