By Hannah Botjer —
Single mother Michelle West is an adjunct at New Jersey City University, and Fairleigh Dickenson University. She has just written her second book, Still Standing: Single, Mothers On the Front Line. Her latest book is an intimate segment of her first book, Lily of the Valley. Both books are on the hardships of being a single mother.
West believes, “In order to get through you have to go through and now I can go back and help someone else get through,” and her book is just that.
The title Still Standing speaks for itself. Still Standing is a captivating book about women who have overcame and conquered and how the journey makes you better.
“If you’re still standing you’ve already won,” West said.
Still Standing speaks to the lives of single mothers. The book talks about the hardships, depression, forgiveness, loneliness, and celibacy, among a host of things. It’s about spiritual, emotional, and physical wellness.
“Single mothers are the most neglected women on the planet,” said West, “They give so much of themselves until there is nothing left for them.”
West is particularly proud of the last chapter. It’s devoted to leaving legacies for your children. “Children are sponges to their parents. If we aren’t careful to lead a proper life with morals and values our children won’t either,” West claims. “I stayed grounded because my parents passed on their strict Christian values to their children.”
This chapter describes how all mothers want to leave something behind for their children but it’s deeper than just a tangible object: it’s what mothers instill in their children that they carry with them for the rest of their lives. West believes that we have to be careful of what we expose our children to if we want to leave a positive legacy.
West decided to write the book because she feels she is compelled as a woman to make a difference everywhere she goes. “It’s something every mother who is great in life has to do, we’re obligated to help each other,” West said.
Her three children mainly inspired her. “I wanted to make sure that when they grew up and navigated through life they wanted to be like mom and do what mom did,” West said.
West decided to write once she had hit her lowest point. After her divorce she was worried she wasn’t going to be able to provide for her family.
School was a huge milestone for West because she grew up in a traditional Christian home where women were the housekeepers and men were the providers. She wanted to go back to school because she wanted to establish a career and make a difference.
After all the hardships, West confesses she’s proud of where she is now. Writing this book helps her remember where she came from.
“If it wasn’t for the grace of God I wouldn’t have survived.” She believes her faith made her stronger throughout the journey.
West is having a book signing on December 11 at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center at 4 p.m. She hopes the signing means more than just buying the book. She wants to inspire her readers: “My ambition is not to just write; there is a need for women to rally and support each other,”
West said, “86 percent of [single parent] families are single mothers families and 14 percent are single fathers.”