My Story

Hello All,

Thank You for taking the time to read this message in honor of my mother, Judith Carol Mayberry (I'm on the left making the funny face). Anyway, Judi loves to read, is very near and dear to my heart, and in the following passage, I'll explain why.

Ok so, I lost my Mom on her 70th birthday in 2022. August 24th to be exact. Considering the fact that her side of my family has mostly passed on, that I wasn't really close with my Dad's side of my family; to top it all off, I'm an only child, to say that her death was painful, is clearly an understatement to say the least. Her death trembled through the family like an earthquake; and my children, especially my oldest Yazmine, we're completely devastated as well. Do you understand her impact now? Great!

Anyway,when I was growing up, my mom loved to read. See we didn’t have  a car, so she caught Public Transportation everywhere, even to work. All while faithfully carrying her latest Danielle Steele masterpiece. Over the years, my mother collected hundreds of books. Thousands even. As expected, she would always try to encourage me  to read as much as she did. However, I never caught the reading bug. I wasn’t a “bookworm” as they say. I read books only when absolutely necessary. 

I remember every time I complained about reading, Mom would say, “You know people say, if  you want to keep something from a  black  person, put it in  a book!” Needless to say, Mom wanted both of us to learn as much as she could with her love of reading. She also loved US History. A class she substituted for at Harper High School back in the 1980’s.In conjunction, she loved Jeopardy, and to scream the answers to the history questions at her TV screen at to but that’s another story. LOL.

Moving on, fast forward to something years later. As I was dealing with the pandemic, like everyone else, my mother started developing signs of dementia. I was heartbroken watching what she was going through. Being the strong Black Woman that she was. All the while, I was in a situationship that I couldn’t get out of with a raging alcoholic. I made mistakes, and I used drinking (way too much) to numb the pain. Then one day I was driving one day when I crashed then flipped my car down an embankment with my baby inside. Here I am driving one day then, BAM! Here comes the law! DUI, Reckless Driving, etc, etc.

After several years of denial, I made an 180 degree life change. I went to Detox, and turned myself into Peachford Hospital for treatment. I also participated in PHP, IOP, DBT, and CBT(Cognitive Behavior) therapies,  3 years and thousands of dollars in attorney fees later, JAIL! I remember sitting at a table in the facility wondering how I was going to get back out and keep getting stronger within sobriety, and in life. Then this inmate named Allie woke me out of my trance by saying, “You know, you don’t have to sit by yourself. You can come sit with us.” So I did. 

She, Summer, and  Shae were all talking about the books that they were reading.with such for delight. This made me want to read what they were reading. So I did. After that first book, I wanted to read more and more. So I asked for more books to read. However, I was advised that they had been begging the Prison Guards for the books that we DID have for days before they got them; and there were none left. In addition, the ladies in the cells below us. The bottom tier, as they say, would not share their books with us. Even Though the books belonged to the jail, or had  been left by previous inmates, we thought. Either  way, the situation made me angry. Reading that book made me feel normal again. No longer, an inmate. I then started thinking of Mommy, and I remembered that the book sure did help me pass my time quickly. 

So while still in jail, I went on a mission to get my fellow inmates  more books to read. In my mind anyway. An 8 hour lockdown comes and I’m sitting in my cell looking out the small rectangle shaped window. Staring into the sky. My Mom crossed my mind again, then my thoughts pushed me a little further. A little voice in my head said, “You should start a book treasury in  honor of  your mother. As a non-profit you can ask for new, gently used  books as donations and provide books to anyone that needs them. Worldwide. Remember there truly are some people that still are not able to afford books. Nor do they have access to the internet. Providing this form of entertainment could be mentally stimulating, even pivotal to their overall success of paying their debt to society; and reenterring into the “Free World” again as a rehabilitated individual.

The rest is what you see here! Just Loves to Read was born! 

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Heather