www.powerhouseglobalmag.com
POWERHOUSE GLOBAL MAGAZINE (PGMAG)
INTERVIEW WITH:
BETH DEACON (BD) PGMAG: Beth, welcome to today’s interview with Lady Anita. BD: It is such an honor to be interviewed by you. Powerhouse Global Magazine offers great insight to its readers on such a variety of topics and I am grateful to have this opportunity. PGMAG: Please introduce yourself to our readers. BD: I am a person who is passionate about teaching. I would love to use the gift of your platform to speak of my most recent work as an author and coach, but I cannot do so without paying homage to my roots. Although my book Seven Doors In, where I share my experience of teaching in a maximum security prison is part of the reason I have been asked to be here today, I could not have gotten here without all events of the past. The time I spent teaching in the prison emboldened me to live and teach by a new motto, “be brave enough to make a change.” But, none of that would be possible without my Midwest upbringing and core values that my parents instilled in me; treat people with respect and kindness, always have a strong work ethic, get a good education and take risks. I grew up in the small town of Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My father worked in the copper mines, and my mother stayed home to take care of my four siblings and me. This small town was a safe place to grow up. We never locked our doors or worried about
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getting hurt in any way. We lived a life filled with family cookouts, enjoying the outdoors and working hard at home and at school. I believe this is why my introduction to my students in the penitentiary, was such a shock. I was sheltered and naive of what was really happening outside the bubble of my bucolic life. Although my parents instilled in me the importance of a strong work ethic and good education, they didn’t tell me those opportunities were not afforded to everyone. On weekends, my father would have my siblings and me outside working by 8am. We spent time on projects like fixing
