February / March 2020
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See The Light By Damita Miller-Shanklin
Nicole Conway wears many hats. She is an author, motivational speaker, Mental Health advocate, a professional model, Image consultant, and Brand Ambassador. To balance all that, she is a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. I admire her positive attitude, her love for life and loving herself. I had the chance to chat with Nicole and I was more inspired after we hung up. She is easy to talk with and relate to during our chat.
Can you give our readers a brief background of who you are? I was born in Seattle, WA and moved to Austin, TX at the age of 10 with my mother and younger sister. We relocated so my mother could attend UT to get her Ph.D. After relocating to Austin I attended L.L. Campbell, St. Mary's & LBJ and worked for the State of Texas for over 18 years. My husband and I relocated to New York in midJuly 2019. We have 6 children between us and 3 granddaughters. Tell our readers about your book Coco's Chronicles. Did it start your journey to self-reflection? Coco's Chronicles is a compilation of my testimonies, poems, scriptures, and quotes that I
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have experienced/read over the years. This book was birthed from my journey while I was suffering from mental illness. I felt it was time to share it with others who may be experiencing some of the same things. It was more of a healing outlet and something that I could share. During one of my earlier interviews, the interviewer said, "it's like having your sister friend on your nightstand and you can read it whenever you need it." I felt honored that it helped her in that way...I felt that what I set out to do was accomplished. Sometimes it is hard to love ourselves. What was your journey of loving yourself and therefore being able to help others? I was very self-conscious of myself growing up thinking I was overweight, too dark, my hair was nappy and I didn't think I was pretty. Many times I was compared to my little sister growing up because she was fair skin and I was darker. I remember this lady saying (looking at my sister), "oh she's so pretty" and then looking over at me and just smiling. My mother quickly corrected
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her and told her that both of my girls are pretty. You don't know how words impact you as you are growing up until you have to truly face yourself. Going through three nervous breakdowns and putting in "work" I was able to find myself. The last visit to Shoal Creek I promised God that when I was released from the hospital I would dedicate myself to helping those that are stuck in the darkness to see some light. Many people are looking for love from others without doing the work on themselves first. How has knowing who you are and loving yourself benefit your marriage? Doing the "work" first is so important before going into a marriage. Being a "whole" person will allow you to attract and manifest a "whole" person. I know everyone won't agree with me, but you attract to you who you are. It's a hard pill to swallow but as I look back on past
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