I LOVE YOUR BROWN
A mother's love letter to her daughter
Jayda’s journey in gymnastics started when she was six years old. I remember her excitement and ours when we decided to give this sport a try. Like any good mom, I jumped online and purchased a leotard for every day of the week (a girls’ gotta dress the part lol). We’d been planning all school year to give gymnastics a try during the summer after finding Jayda on several different occasions watching television on her head. We didn’t know then that four years later she’d be a level 5 competitive junior Olympian and that her accomplishments would inspire the words of “I Love Your Brown” and so much more.
It’s funny looking back now when I realize that we could’ve missed the move of God. What if we didn’t think twice about the odd way Jayda decided to watch television? What if we let other people discourage us not to join the sport because of their bad experiences? What if we allowed our fears to cripple us, worrying about how we could afford an elite sport? Thank God we didn’t because parenting Jayda through gymnastics has been a tremendous blessing to our family. Anthony and Jayda share a bond with gymnastics; they are the ultimate workout buddies and encourage me to get active. Anthony and I have been able to celebrate Jayda’s accomplishments togethet, and Jayda now knows at the age of ten what it feels like to come in last and on top!
It may be selfish, but when I wrote every word of "I Love Your Brown" (ILYB) I pictured Jayda’s pose on the balance beam, her grace on the floor, tenacity on the vault and fearlessness on the bars. When she won and placed first on her floor routine outscoring some of her teammates, I thought “Remember your biggest competition is you, it is not the Brown girl standing next to you. Practice being your sister's keepers not just for brown girls but for all girls” one of my favorite lines from “I Love Your Brown.”
Although my own experiences and the experiences of my co-author Atiya Chase, with her daughter inspired the words of ILYB, The book was published for every mom, caring adult to share with the young woman in your life.
When you purchase and share the message of I Love Your Brown with your daughter you will inevitably be reminded of a story; a moment when you realized how much you love everything that makes her special! We hope the words leap off the page for you and speak to insecurities that you may be holding on from your childhood. When you finish the book we encourage you to write your very own love letter to your daughter and while you’re at it why not write a love letter to yourself.
Xo,
Daneya