|
Pocono Record ~
Friday, February 27, 2009
Author gives Black
History Month presentation at East Stroudsburg High
School South
Author LaJoyce Brookshire speaks to
students at East Stroudsburg South High School on
Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.
Brookshire
penned the novel Soul Food, which was adapted to film in
1999, and Faith under Faith.
She spoke to
the students about her life experiences as part of a
Black History Month presentation.
____________________________________________________________________
Daily News ~ March 5, 2008
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Faith
Under Fire
Betrayed by a Thing Called Love
a memoir by bestselling author
LaJoyce Brookshire
LaJoyce
Brookshire, the best-selling author of Soul Food
and Web of Deception, takes a pause from fiction
to share a true story more shattering than any novel.
It’s her story. Her candid memoir, FAITH UNDER
FIRE: Betrayed by a Thing Called Love (Karen Hunter
Publishing/Pocket Books; January 2008) tells
Brookshire’s story of survival against the odds and
courage in the face of a troubled relationship and a
terrifying illness.
LaJoyce Brookshire was married to a man she thought
was her very own Prince Charming…but then discovered a
veiled side of him…He knew he had AIDS but kept this
deadly secret from her until his body betrayed him.
The frightening statistics of HIV/AIDS infections in
this country only prove that there are too many secrets
in too many relationships—and many of them are harbored
by families living in fear, ignorance, and denial. With
the statistics raging even higher for African American
women, LaJoyce boldly shares her truth after more than
ten years of silence. Standing on her incredible faith,
then as now, LaJoyce says it’s time to stop lying, start
telling the truth, and begin to live life with the
understanding that only the truth will make you free.
Standing on her incredible faith, then as now,
LaJoyce says it's time to stop lying, start telling the
truth, and begin to live life with the understanding
that only the truth will make you free.
As author of the novel Soul Food, she is the
first African American to novelize a major motion
picture. She was chosen by HarperCollins Publishing to
write the novelization from the movie’s script on the
strength of her first novel, the suspense drama Web
of Deception. Due to LaJoyce's expertise
in marketing and publicity, Soul Food has out
sold every movie tie-in book ever written.
About the Author
LaJoyce Brookshire is the bestselling author of the
novels Soul Food and Web of Deception, and
has contributed essays to Souls of My Sisters and
GhettOver Girls. An ordained minister, a doctor
of naturopathy, and master herbalist, she resides in the
Poconos with her husband, childhood sweetheart Gus,
daughter Brooke and dogs Phoenix and Lexi.
###
Karen
Hunter Publishing, an imprint of Pocket Books/Simon &
Schuster, is a New York-based company that provides a
multi-platform forum for all book publishing-related
activities. Its divisions offer varied services,
including branding, writing, publishing, talent
management and marketing.
Pocket Books is an imprint of Simon &
Schuster. Simon & Schuster, a part of the CBS
Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general
interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in
fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across
all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its
divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing,
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster
Audio, Simon & Schuster Online, and international
companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
For more information, visit our website at
http://www.simonsays.com.
If you wish to reproduce
a photograph of the author and/or the book jacket or
cover, you can retrieve a high-resolution digital file
at:
http://resources.simonsays.com.
For press inquiries, contact:
Erica Feldon, Publicity Manager
Pocket Books/Karen Hunter Publishing
(212) 698.7081
erica.feldon@simonandschsuter.com
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
AOL
Black Voices
LaJoyce Brookshire: Faith In The Face
of AIDS
Posted Apr 18th 2008 12:45AM by
Angela Bronner
Filed under:
AIDS: 25 Years and Counting,
Lifestyle,
Spirituality and Religion
By Angela Bronner,
BlackVoices.com
LaJoyce Brookshire has certainly
been through the fire, but thanks to her unrelenting
faith, came out unscathed.
The former power publicist turned author (she novelized
the black film classic Soul Food and also wrote
Web of Deception), ordained minister and doctor
of Naturopathy, recently released a powerful piece of
non-fiction -- a deeply disturbing, though increasingly
common story, about courage, AIDS, marriage, deception
and ultimately, redemption.
In
Faith Under Fire: Betrayed By a Thing Called Love,
Brookshire shares the riveting true-life account of
marrying a man with full blown AIDS, and using her rock
of Gibraltar faith to get through an ordeal which would
have broken most.
Brookshire opens up with BlackVoices.com.
What was your process in
coming to write the memoir?
I wrote 'Faith Under Fire' primarily because the
statistics for HIV infections were continuing to rise.
And I heard my story over and over more times than I
even cared to. So it was time that I broke the silence
and stopped trying to keep the privacy of a dead man,
and let people know some information that could possibly
save their lives; because for the people who are most at
risk, I have the most information.
And who are the people most at risk, black women,
married?
Black women are highly at risk, yes . And
heterosexual women of all walks of life are highly at
risk.
How did you maintain your Christian faith when you
knew that this man knowingly had AIDS and still slept
with you?
You know what it is, honestly...because I didn't know
that I was being deceived until he was almost dead. It
was easier for me to maintain my Christian faith,
because I was staying true to my wedding vows. And I
thought back to the day of my wedding, when the only
tear I shed was when I said, "through sickness and in
health". That was the only tear. And we ironically got
married on World AIDS Day in 1990- December 1st. That's
how I was I able to hold on and just through the grace
of God honestly.
Do you recommend that people in marriage get HIV
tests?
Absolutely, I think now, its become routine. HIV can
slip up on you and you might not ever know. I think what
health systems should do is make blood testing mandatory
to obtain a marriage license again. When I got married
in 1990, to this guy, it was mandatory in 28 states, and
now its only mandatory in 14. In the life and times of
which we live now, why are there less? It is the
responsibility of each individual to gather information;
before you swap spit, swap information. No test, no
touch! But we say that in theory and it's all fine and
good, but here I am in this situation when Mr. Tall,
Fine, and Handsome came strumping up in my life sending
roses to my job every week, and my nose was open like a
Mack truck. There's nothing you can tell a woman when
she's in love.
I know you do the book tour with churches, how is
the feedback from the church?
Oh incredible. And here's the deal, this is why I do
this. This is why I stand naked and not ashamed because
of the people who are able to see themselves in me. And
for the people who are harboring a secret too, and who
are now able to be set free. People who are willing to
stand in their truth, no matter what it is. After I
finish speaking, especially at churches, women just come
up and they're in tears. They come to whisper in my ear
and they can't say anything, but I know what they want
to say. One women at a church in New Jersey got the
strength to go to her pastor's office when I spoke there
in February, but since November she's been harboring the
fact that she found out that her husband was HIV
positive. She didn't even tell her mama! After I spoke
and told my story, she told her pastor and he handed her
a piece of paper with my number on it. And he knew he
didn't need to check with me, because that's why I'm
there. I'm being really bold about what I'm saying so
that people can become honest and come clean about the
truth and where you are. The truth is the only thing
that is going to stop this epidemic...and I'm trying to
help do that.
Has there been any backlash?
From his family, yes, his sisters. Outside of that,
no. There's been backlash from people, who feel that I
preach abstinence... well I do. I don't think that you
can put your faith in a condom. You can't put your total
and complete faith in a condom. I ask this...If you know
the person has AIDS, do you still trust the condom? The
answer is generally no! Why then, do you trust it and
you're not really sure? You're rolling the dice.
So abstinence outside of marriage?
Abstinence outside of marriage... or until you find
out enough information. We don't want to hear that...
because it's very hard to hear.
How do you feel about the Down Low phenomenon?
Here's the thing, I never caught him in bed with
anybody. But like I said, I have is compilation of lies.
And how I came up with my conclusion of him being on the
down low is because women who have caught their men in
bed, we say the exact same thing and have the exact same
story... exactly. We have the disappearing acts, the Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior, or the sweeping you off
your feet like Prince Charming. The monopolizing all of
your time and he disappears with certain male friends in
particular, you know you can name a couple of friends
who are not accounted for after they die. He sabotages
your relationship with the other friends so that its
just you and him riding off into the sunset. Lying about
mostly anything to get their way, its narcissistic and
sociopathic behavior because they prey on women who are
straight. And they are willing givers of oral sex,
without wanting to receive it. A gay friend of mine put
it quite succinctly by saying, because, once a man has
given another man oral sex, that a woman's jaw strength
is just not the same.
Do you think being more open or accepting of
homosexuality is part of taking the stigma of hiding
away?
The gay friends that I have, who acknowledge that
they're openly gay, men and women, I embrace them,
because they are standing in their truth. The people who
are tipping, whatever kind of tipping that you are
doing... if you're a man and you're tipping on the other
side of town with another woman, even that is down low
behavior. But certainly if you do it with the opposite
sex, you're not standing in good truth. I have already
embraced this community because I have personal friends
of the community So the stigma then doesn't lie within
them, the stigma then lies within you.
Why then do we have to wait until catastrophe happens,
meaning one person getting infected with HIV for it to
all come to light that you've led a duplicitous
lifestyle and for it to all blow up in your face? Then
you've got to backtrack and make notifications and see
who you've been with- or not -because some people are
not even doing notifying others. Saying you have HIV is
just not something that people can easily say to others.
So how involved have you become in just educating
yourself about AIDS? Do you follow it in the news or not
necessarily?
I wouldn't call myself an expert. I do keep very
close to the statistics and I'm very close to the
National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. I have
been probably their most returning employee. Seriously,
I have worked there, like five times in my career. And
because of that relationship, it keeps me close to the
epidemic. And it keeps me close to the stats, every time
I need new stats, they make sure I get them. I would
consider myself a health expert now because as a
classical naturopathic doctor I'm an expert on keeping the immune
systems healthy.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Florida Courier
Sharing Black Life, Statewide
May 2008
Web of Deception
LaJoyce Brookshire, ‘Soul Food’ author, tells of
betrayal she felt after learning of husband’s ‘down low’
life
BY STARLA VAUGHNS CHERIN
FLORIDA COURIER
In the 1980s and 1990s, not many people fathomed the
thought of purportedly straight men having sex with men.
Many still looked at HIV/AIDS as a gay White man’s
disease. But when author LaJoyce Brookshire discovered
her husband was dying of AIDS, the idea was all too
real.
Brookshire’s professional success as author of the
book "Soul Food" and the first African American to
novelize a major motion picture did not diminish her
pain. It has taken her more than 10 years to heal from
her husband’s betrayal.
During that time, she has heard and talked to many
women who found they were in the same situation—in a
relationship with a "down low’’ brother. It prompted
Brookshire to tell her story in "Faith Under Fire:
Betrayed by a Thing Called Love," her first non-fiction
work.
‘Signs’ ignored
Married four years before her husband’s death,
Brookshire said that when she met him he had just been
in the hospital for bleeding ulcers. He was 31 and
attributed it to a bad marriage and stress on the job.
When he died, his T-cell count, one of the measurements
used to gauge the body’s ability to fight off
infections, was four. (People without HIV infections
have ‘normal’ T-cell counts of 700 to 1,000.)
"That means you have to count back 10 years,"
Brookshire told the Florida Courier. "I realized he knew
all along and had been trying to infect me. He had some
idea we were going to die together, but God had
something better in store for me." Later she found out
his mother and sister had known all along.
Brookshire looks back at what she now calls "signs"
that indicated her husband was living a ‘down low’
lifestyle.
"He was extremely homophobic. My gay friends never
got a chance to put their "gaydar’’ on him because he
would always leave. He never wanted me to be out of his
sight. Putting a wedge between family and friends,
eavesdropping and the disappearing acts.
"It doesn’t sneak up on you. I was able to piece it
together," she said. "Sores that won’t heal, shortness
of breath, colds, bronchitis, recurrent pink eye,
diarrhea. There are so many opportunistic viruses that
prey upon a person with HIV or AIDS."
No courtship
He never told her about his sexual orientation, and
Brookshire had no concrete proof her husband had sex
with men. She would remember the times when two of his
best friends would come to town and he would stay out
all night with them, sometimes not coming home and going
straight to work. After his death in 1995, she never saw
these best friends again and they didn’t come to the
funeral.
"All of the women who were caught say they were wined
and dined and swept off their feet," Brookshire said
about those who admit they were in "down low’’
relationships. "That is a smokescreen and most likely in
the excitement of it all, you are not paying attention
to a lot of things.’’
Brookshire said a marriage proposal came five months
after meeting her "honeydip.’’ She realizes a lot of her
focus was on planning the wedding, not on the
relationship she was entering.
"When you’re planning a wedding, there is no
courtship," she said. "I was swamped. Your mind is on
the details of the wedding. I saw he had a ‘Jekyll and
Hyde’ personality. He was sweet and then the opposite.
Constantly complaining. Nothing was ever good enough. He
would rant and rave to get his way and his road rage was
out of control. Several times I got out of the car and
took the subway home.
Honeymoon nightmare
"This is how crazy I am about getting married. I would
make excuses for him and his behavior. Like he’s under
stress. Telling myself, ‘Once we get married it will all
go away. Everything will change and get better.’ Lie,
lie, lie, lie."
It got worse. On their honeymoon in Hawaii, the
campaign to destroy her self-image and self-esteem
began.
"He complained about the way I looked, my clothes, my
hair, my weight and mocked me because I brought books
with me. He was sadistic and selfish; it was all about
him," she added.
Brookshire also takes responsibility for the part she
played in allowing her love and desire to be married
overshadow what was in front of her.
"I was ripe and ready for a relationship. When they
prey, they prey on those that are the most needy. I was
28 and had always been the bridesmaid and
never the bride. He looked to be everything he
wasn’t," she said.
"I thought he was a victim of his own promiscuity. He
had proved to me over and over again that he was a
womanizer. I thought, ‘See, this is what happens to
you.’ It wasn’t until shortly before he died, I found
out he had known all along, and I wanted to kill him."
‘Down low’ gospel truth
J.L. King, author of "On The Down Low: A Journey into
the Lives of ‘Straight’ Black Men Who Sleep with Men,"
says most men on the "down low" don’t know or care if
they have the HIV virus.
At the National Conference on African Americans and
AIDS and Prevention last year, King said those men say,
‘I sleep with men, but I am not bisexual, and I am
certainly not gay. I am not going to your clinics, I am
not going to read your brochures, I am not going to get
tested.’
"I assure you that none of the brothers on the down
low are paying the least bit of attention to what you
say," King explained.
The 67 percent of African American women with HIV
contracted it from heterosexual sex. The two ways that
the virus is contracted heterosexually to Black women is
through intravenous drug use and African American men on
the down low.
King writes in his book that many of his partners
were pillars in their local churches.
"There are gospel conventions throughout the nation
for churches. There is one for ushers, Sunday school
departments, music departments and ministers. These
events allow men to meet men and to have sex while away
from their hometowns. Many midnight concerts turn into
affairs where brothers are cruising each other. I’ve
been there, seen it and done it," King states in his
book.
Brookshire says before marrying her husband, he
always thanked God he met her.
"I was impressed by that because God has always been
a special part of my life. I call myself ‘God’s Girl’
because He delivered me through this with my physical
and mental health. I did not contract HIV." She later
married her childhood sweetheart and the two have a
daughter.
Chosen for ‘Soul Food’
Brookshire credits her writing success to her love of
reading and journaling.
"My husband Gus gave me my first diary when I was 12.
That was in divine order. It is where my real
storytelling skills began to come out. I wrote blow by
blow what my friends and I did. You don’t realize that
something you do habitually as a child can become a
profession," she said.
"They do this with White movies all the time. This
was the first time it had been done for a Black movie,"
she said.
Career started early
She always wanted to be an author and received her first
recognition at 11 when she won the Ebony Jr. Magazine
prize for a story about friendship. She jump-started her
career in communications while she was still in high
school.
The Chicago PBS radio station, WBEZ, held citywide
auditions for a two-year course that would have students
produce a weekly radio show. Brookshire was one of just
15 chosen out of thousands.
She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in speech and
Spanish from Eastern Illinois University before moving
to New York to work in radio at Sheridan Broadcasting
Networks as an entertainment reporter, covering the
party scene for the syndicated show, "On the Beat.’’
Later, as director of publicity at Arista Records she
promoted performers like Aretha Franklin, P. Diddy, TLC,
Tony Braxton and Usher.
In 1997, she was chosen by HarperCollins Publishing
to write the novelization of "Soul Food" from the movie
script on the strength of her novel, the suspense drama
"Web of Deception." Though the book sold 180,000 copies,
Brookshire says her experience with the major publisher
was disappointing.
"I had to plan my own tour for that and raise my own
money," she said. "I got four national sponsors. I sold
most of those books hand-to-hand. Twenty-five cities, 40
events."
Self-publishing successful
With "Web of Deception," she eschewed the major
publishing route and went independent, duplicating the
model she’d used for "Soul Food.’’ She sold 100,000
copies. She plans to follow a similar path with "Faith
Under Fire,’’ her third book, using print-on-demand
services from Author House.
"My attorney was a little concerned with me going
with print-ondemand. This story is too important. I need
it to be taken seriously in the publishing business,"
Brookshire said "I said, ‘You know what, let the
publishing business come to me.’ This story has sat in
every publishing house, has been to every Black editor
and many others, and not one of them thought it worthy
enough as a body of work to be published.
"They’re publishing Black erotica by the handful.
…The publishing industry is falling victim in many ways
to what they think Black people want to read. …But there
are some of us who want to read things that truly help
us, empower us and set us free."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Madison County Carrier ~ Enterprise
Recorder Tallahassee, Florida
Best-Selling Author Wows Crowd
By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Although best-selling author LaJoyce Brookshire was
invited to speak in Madison on February 2 at NFCC as
part of an AIDS awareness project, it was her insightful
discussion of family habits and health advice that left
the audience clamoring for more and later standing in
line to buy her book. Brookshire’s extensive expertise
and celebrity on both topics is due in large part to her
surviving a marriage to a man who had and hid his AIDS
from her until he was in a very advanced stage.
Amazingly, Brookshire not only survived the
relationship; she forgave her husband for the deceit,
nursing him until his death. And more unbelievable than
that, she tested negative for HIV, attributing it to her
faith and lifestyle, especially the immune strength
brought about by her diet.
Brookshire practices naturopathy, which is a system
of therapy and treatment relying on natural remedies,
such as sunlight, air and water, and of course diet.
"You are what you eat, literally," she boldly stated.
She also recalled a front-page story several years
before her marriage to her late husband regarding AIDS
awareness in minority communities that was mostly
ignored. Conversely, she has made it a life mission to
ensure others do hear the cry so many missed and have
suffered immeasurably from the lack of information.
Brookshire has also since remarried, and now, among
other professional pursuits, offers health counseling.
And based on the audience response to her lecture, she
is making a serious impact, truly changing lives in the
process.
"Our entire existence is part of glorious cycles that
the Creator set in motion. What we eat, what we do or
don’t eliminate, what we drink and our sleep are all
part of this process. They all have a tremendous affect
on our health. I studied under a physician, a full
medical doctor who also practiced naturopathy, and he
would ask patients questions like, ‘So, how long have
you been doing diabetes?’ implying that it is a
personal choice to contract chronic illnesses. In other
words, it’s our choice and it’s almost completely
preventable," Brookshire explained.
Following her colorful, yet very persuasive,
discussion, which including detailed references to
aspartame, water and pork, also included cautionary
comments regarding parasites, hormones and
antibiotics. In the end though, she created very
practical marching orders for the audience to take with
them, but not before a thirty minute Q&A. It actually
appeared that the question period would have gone on all
night if organizers were not forced to cut it off for
time’s sake.
As audience members discussed specific ailments,
Brookshire interjected features and symptoms of the
various illnesses and habits in question, astonishing
listeners with her matter-of-fact insights and her way
of getting at the bigger picture. More importantly, she
offered solutions. The impact was so considerable that
a large portion of the audience rushed to purchase her
book, which she graciously stayed to sign.
Organizers and hosts included Preston Mathews and
Deveda Bellamy from the Department of Health, as well as
Rev. Robert Holmes and Jerome Wyche from the Drug
Prevention Coalition. "We are so fortunate to have
someone of LaJoyce Brookshire’s notoriety speak with us
so intimately right here in Madison," Mathews noted.
Staff writer Michael Curtis can be reached at
michael@greenepublishing.com.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.takielabynum.com
February 2008
Faith Under Fire A Memoir
This memoir is nothing short than an account of a
miracle.
LaJoyce Brookshire fell in love, hard, as any woman
would when bouquets of flowers greet her at home and
work on a weekly basis. Dining at expensive restaurants
becomes a typical weekend tryst. Brookshire is rendered
defenseless as her beau monopolizes her heart. But soon
after they marry, he begins to sporadically reveal
pieces of his true self.
Gradually, Brookshire observes more disturbing
behavior while in the company of her husband. He has
bouts of anger and fits of rage that are contrary to the
gentleman she deemed as her "Prince Charming."
Throughout the narrative Brookshire hears whispered
warnings about her husband, but love, as they say, is
blinding and her loving eyes did not see.
Until one day Brookshire’s husband becomes extremely
sick, and after many failed attempts of trying to remedy
his ailments, finally she had no choice but to take him
to a hospital. Forty days later the doctor informs her
that her husband has AIDS.
Each time her spirit is at a low ebb, she hears the
voice of the Lord softly speaking, "Don’t let Me go,"
and she didn’t let go…ever.
Brookshire allows God to demonstrate His power
through what may be some of the weakest moments in her
life. Her faith remains as did she. She stays with her
husband, just as she vowed to do, in sickness and
health, for better or worse. After she discovers that he
and his family knew long before she had ever met him
that he was HIV positive, she does not gleefully hope
for the elongated suffering of her husband. She remains
at his side. After she discovers that his plan from the
beginning is for her to become infected and for them to
die together, she does not stoop to the lows of
vindictiveness, nor does she allow her heart to become
rooted in bitterness. She continues by his side. Not
many could forgive such selfish acts of deceit, but
Brookshire finds the courage through that of a greater
power not limited by earthly restraints. In spite of her
hurts, disappointments, and ultimate betrayal by the man
of her dreams, she is longsuffering, enduring, and
forgiving.
This book put me on an emotional rollercoaster, it
made me laugh, cry, hope, and thankful. Brookshire has a
remarkable story to share. She takes the harshness of
her reality and envelopes it within the pages of Fire
Under Faith. She exposes hard truths and openly
deals with circumstances that others hush. This book
will definitely make someone who’s eager for marriage
think twice. Take a valuable lesson from Brookshire, it
just may save your life.
Reviewed by: Takiela Bynum
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TheCrusade.net
March 2008
LaJoyce Brookshire
Author
President, Brookshire Services Unlimited
Bushkill, PA
LaJoyce Brookshire’s life story is the stuff TV
movies are made of. Smart overachiever moves to New York
City, builds an accomplished career in media and
publicity, falls in love with a dashing, handsome man.
Marries. Discovers a dark, dark secret.
Eventually, there’s a happy ending. At the moment,
though, more than ten years after she uncovered her
first husband’s unconscionable deceit, Brookshire is
determined to bring that dark secret to light. In her
new book, a self-published memoir called Faith Under
Fire: Betrayed by a Thing Called Love (read an exclusive
excerpt on pg. 22), she chronicles her discovery that
the man she trusted married her knowing he had AIDS ––
but didn’t bother to tell her. Even more profound,
Brookshire says her late husband’s mother and sister
also kept his secret. According to Brookshire, the three
of them –– mother, son and sister –– conspired to hide
the truth so he wouldn’t die alone.
"I needed to write this book because after more than
10 years of silence, looking at the rate of
African-American women becoming infected –– primarily
through heterosexual transmission –– I could no longer
remain silent," says Brookshire of her decision to share
this intensely personal story. "There are so many signs
women could be alerted to if they knew what they were
looking for…"
Brookshire says those signs include extreme
homophobia and selfishness. "[He was] spending money for
himself like he knew he was going to die," says
Brookshire in hindsight. "Never having a care about
putting away for tomorrow, as if there would always be
the endless well to dip in."
Faith Under Fire is the Chicago-born writer’s third
book. Her first, the "novelized" version of the hit
movie "Soul Food," was published by Harper Collins in
1997. Though the book sold 180,000 copies, Brookshire
says her experience with the major publisher was
disappointing. "I had to plan my own tour for that and
raise my own money," she says. "I got four national
sponsors. I sold most of those books hand-to-hand.
Twenty-five cities, 40 events." With her second novel,
Web of Deception, she eschewed the major publishing
route and went independent, duplicating the model she’d
used for Soul Food. She says her sophomore effort sold
100,000 copies. She plans to follow a similar path with
Faith Under Fire, using print-on-demand services from
Author House.
"My attorney was a little concerned with me going
with print-on-demand. She said the story is too
important, I need it to be taken seriously in the
publishing business," Brookshire recalls. "I said, you
know what, let the publishing business come to me. This
story has sat in every publishing house, has been to
every Black editor and many others, and not one of them
thought it worthy enough as a body of work to be
published…They’re publishing Black erotica by the
handful…The publishing industry is falling victim in
many ways to what they think Black people want to
read…But there are some of us who want to read things
that truly help us, empower us and set us free."
The former publicist says she pulled the agonizing
story of Faith Under Fire from the journals and diaries
she’s been in the habit of keeping since she was a kid
growing up in Chicago. A habit started by her childhood
sweetheart, who’s now her husband. "When I was 12, he
gave me a diary for Christmas of 1975," says Brookshire.
"He could have bought anything else in the store with
his $10, but he chose a diary. Then that was the staple
gift, the diary and the stuffed animal… If it weren’t
for him giving me those diaries I probably wouldn’t have
any stories."
Brookshire’s storytelling abilities and her vivacious
personality (her classmates called her "Radio")
jump-started her career in communications while she was
still in high school. The Chicago PBS radio station,
WBEZ, held citywide auditions for a two-year course that
would have students produce a weekly radio show.
Brookshire was one of just 15 chosen out of thousands.
Bitten by the media bug, she went on to earn a
bachelor’s degree in speech and Spanish from Eastern
Illinois University before moving to New York to work in
radio. She started as a television sales assistant at
Blair Radio in 1984 and then moved onto Sheridan
Broadcasting Networks where, as an entertainment
reporter, she covered the party scene –– every night ––
for the syndicated show, On the Beat. During the day,
Brookshire taught writing at a specialized arts high
school until the program lost its funding and she turned
to radio full-time. Sheridan promoted her to programming
coordinator in 1988 and she helped produce a popular
syndicated show called Top 30 USA, hosted by BET VJ
Donnie Simpson.
When Sheridan moved its operations to Pittsburgh,
Brookshire chose to stay in New York. She used her
severance package to start Retnuh Relations, a
publicity, programming and production firm. She worked
extensively with not-for-profit clients, and a
successful event she coordinated for the National Urban
League got the attention of the National Black
Leadership Commission on AIDS. She took the research and
advocacy group on as a client and became their director
of communications and marketing in 1993. Ironically, she
was working with the Commission when she learned her
first husband had AIDS. Working for an AIDS advocacy
group while dealing with the discovery of her husband’s
condition was a blessing in many ways, but eventually it
became overwhelming and she had to leave. "I could no
longer do AIDS at home and AIDS at work," she says.
Brookshire joined W&W Public Relations, where she
spent a year as a senior account executive handling
artists such as George Howard, Men at Large and Sean
Levert. While she juggled music industry publicity at
work, she battled her husband’s illness at home. During
her time at W&W, Brookshire’s husband became permanently
disabled (she cared for him until his death in spite of
his deceit). When he was hospitalized for weeks at a
time, Brookshire leaned heavily on her boss, PR maven
Patti Webster (who is a deaconess and the daughter of
ministers). "Patti’s family saved my life. I literally
slept on their couch so I could be at work. I would go
home to the Poconos three times a week, and stay on
their couch three days a week."
From W&W she went to Arista Records where, as a
publicity director, she worked with artists such as
Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Toni Braxton, Usher and the
roster at Bad Boy Entertainment –– including the late
rap legend, The Notorious B.I.G. In fact, Brookshire had
been with the rapper in Los Angeles for several days
leading up to the fateful weekend of the 1997 Soul Train
Music Awards (riding, she recalls, in the vehicle in
which he was shot). After the awards show, though,
Brookshire had had enough of L.A. She gave Biggie her
passes to the "Vibe" magazine party and took a flight
back to New York. By the time she got home, the rapper
was dead.
Before she could descend into depression in the
aftermath of the shooting, though, Brookshire got a call
from her literary agent with the news that she’d been
hired to write the Soul Food novel –– as long as she
could get it done in five weeks.
Brookshire returned to consulting over the past
several years. She did another stint with the National
Black Leadership Commission on AIDS and worked with
ClearChannel Radio Tri-State. Last summer, she did
marketing and community relations for the Mountain
Laurel Center for the Performing Arts, a $25 million
facility near her home in Pennsylvania’s Pocono
Mountains.
These days she’s preparing for a 30-city book tour
for Faith Under Fire. There are plans to do 10 of those
cities with Brenda Stone Browder, author of On the Up
and Up and ex-wife of On the Down Low author J.L. King.
There’s also talk of a Web of Deception movie. Primarily
though, Brookshire, is crafting a new life for herself.
She goes to bed early, teaches dance, is an active
member of her church, enjoys horseback riding and is a
doctor of
classical
naturopathic medicine –– she earned for the
degree through an intensive study group while pregnant
with her daughter, Brooke. "I keep saying that I quit
the entertainment business," Brookshire insists. "I’m no
longer a publicist. I’m no longer doing those kinds of
things. That’s my other life. My new life is that I’m
Gus’ wife. I’m Brooke’s mommy. I am a
classical
naturopathic
doctor and I’m an author."
You can obtain Faith Under Fire: Betrayed by a Thing
Called Love at
www.LaJoyceBrookshire.com
or at a bookstore near you.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthBendTribune.com
Article published Jul 25, 2008
HIV/AIDS expert to speak Saturday
LaJoyce Brookshire at Emanuel Community Church.
|
Pastor Shirley Gaston of Emanuel
Community Church in South Bend prepares
for her Wednesday afternoon prayer
service. The church will host two
HIV/AIDS workshops Saturday at the
church.
Tribune Photo/MAY LEE JOHNSON |
 |
By MAY LEE JOHNSON
Tribune
Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Pastor Shirley Gaston is happy to
open the doors of her church to raise awareness
of the increasing numbers of Michiana residents
afflicted with HIV/AIDS.
"We are a community church that welcomes
everyone," she said.
Her church, Emanuel Community Church -- "The
Lighthouse" -- will host two workshops featuring
LaJoyce Brookshire on Saturday.
Brookshire is the best-selling author of "Soul
Food" and "Faith Under Fire," in which she
writes about her first husband who knew he had
AIDS but didn't tell her.
She stood firm and honored her marriage vows
until he died.Gaston quotes Chapter 14 of
the Book of Romans in the Bible:
"Welcome with open arms fellow believers who
don't see things the way you do. And don't jump
all over them every time they do or say
something you don't agree with -- even when it
seems that they are strong on opinions but weak
in the faith department. Remember, they have
their own history to deal with. Treat them
gently."
With those words, everyone is welcome to join in
Saturday's workshop, she said.
Brookshire is an ordained minister and a doctor
of naturopathy, a system of medicine based on
the healing power of nature.She's also the
former publicist of Sean "Diddy" Combs, the late
Notorious BIG, Whitney Houston and Aretha
Franklin.
The main purpose of the workshop is to make
people aware of the impact HIV/AIDS has,
especially on the black community.
A youth workshop, from 10 a.m. to noon, is
titled "What you don't know about HIV CAN kill
you."
An adult workshop, from 1 to 3 p.m., is titled
"What Every Woman Should Know."
The church is at 415 W. LaSalle, South Bend.The
day will include a book signing by Brookshire
and free onsite AIDS testing by Imani Unidad
Inc. A $10 gift card will be given to all who
take the HIV test.
A freewill offering will be accepted.
For information, call (574) 340-5569.
Staff writer May Lee Johnson:
mjohnson@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6326
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