Every book has a heartbeat. For Roots & Wings: SS Parenting, mine began at the intersection of love, worry, and hope—while raising Salome and Anjola, my two champions living with sickle cell (SS). What started as scattered notes in journals and late-night reflections soon took shape into something larger: a story that is mine, but also ours.

If you are visiting this space for the first time, you may be asking: Where do I begin with this book?

The truth is, Roots & Wings is not just a memoir. It is a tapestry woven from personal experiences, communal narratives, and cultural reflections. It’s part diary, part documentary, and part love letter to every parent, caregiver, and child walking the path of SS.

Why this book matters

Parenting children with sickle cell disease is layered with both unique challenges and profound moments of joy. Medical routines and crises are only part of the story. The other part – the one that often goes untold – is about resilience, community support, and the reimagining of hope.

With Roots & Wings, I wanted to create a narrative that does two things at once:

1. Witness the intimate realities of parenting through memoir.
2. Connect those realities to the larger communal story of families, culture, and resilience.

Where to start reading

If you are picking up the book for the first time, I encourage you to:

• Start with the personal reflections. These chapters offer raw honesty about navigating parenthood with SS in the mix.
• Move into the communal stories. They place my journey alongside the voices of other parents, healthcare workers, and communities.
• End with the lessons and reflections. Here you’ll find not answers, but a way of holding the questions that parenting with SS inevitably brings.

Who this book is for

This book is for parents and caregivers searching for solidarity, for communities seeking to understand, and for anyone who believes that stories have the power to heal. Even if you’ve never encountered SS up close, you will find in these pages universal themes of love, endurance, and the human spirit.

A beginning, not an end

Roots & Wings: SS Parenting is just the start of a broader conversation. My hope is that you’ll not only read, but also share your story, reflect with your community, and walk away with a deeper sense of connection.

This is where we begin – together.