Today’s podcast is all about Alretha Thomas. She unfortunately suffered childhood trauma, including physical abuse from a stepfather, molestation from a family associate, and the suffering of second-degree burns at age three at the hands of a neighbor. At age 14 she found her 36-year-old mother dead at their home. Thomas has lived with resilience and faith to handle what comes her way. Alretha Thomas is a former model and a SAG/AFTRA actress who has appeared in numerous films, television series, and commercials. She also appeared on two iconic soap operas, Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. She currently is a series regular on Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living, a television program on BET that’s in its fifth year. As a playwright, Civil Rites won an NAACP Theatre Award. A Shrine to Junior was nominated for the same award. She also wrote and produced Mommie and Clyde, a play that received an NAACP Theatre Award nomination both for Best Ensemble Cast, and Best Director. She was awarded the Jessie Redman Fauset Literary Award for her Indie Novel, Four Ladies Only. Thomas has penned 15 novels, over a half-million of which have been sold and downloaded. Ever since her first novel was launched in 2008, Daughter Denied, her works have received glowing reviews from readers, book clubs, and reviewers. Born in Oakland, and raised in San Francisco, she has resided in Los Angeles for most of her life. For more information, please consult: www.alrethathomas.com