Dear Reader, Love Tamika M. Murray

Dear Reader…

It’s a dream come true to have a published book. I’ve always wanted to become an author, but it felt like an unattainable aspiration for so long.

I wrote my first short story at the age of nine, but that hardly garnered people's attention outside my family. Fast forward to my teens, and my writing improved and appeared in a local newspaper. By the end of high school, I knew an English Literature degree was in my future.

However, by the time my college graduation neared, my mother received a breast cancer diagnosis. Trying to finish my senior thesis was the last thing I wanted to do, but it got done.

After graduation, my life and career took many twists and turns, because of mom’s multiple treatment appointments, check-ups, and reconstructive surgery. My desire to help and educate was always within me but ignited as I witnessed her daily struggles.

My time as an Adjunct English Instructor and Case Manager gave me the experience necessary to bring words to life.

Unfortunately, my mother passed away unexpectedly Thanksgiving weekend of 2016. Although her Cancer had returned a third time, it wasn’t aggressive, nor was it terminal. The E.R. doctors believe an undetected blood clot ruptured.

I took time off to begin healing, but I eventually returned to social work. My position in a high school Teen Center exposed me to the highs and lows of adolescents. As my interactions increased, I saw positive changes occur thanks to the Teen Center Staff and me.

While dealing with the shock and grief of my loss, I realized that I enjoyed the social work field and loved my kids at the Teen Center, but I must move on.

My time with them is imprinted in the pages of my book Crying, Learning, and Laughing: Why Students Visit the Teen Center.

I hope you find the information enlightening and entertaining because everything is based on real events. Given the current state of our world now more than ever, kids need free mental health, educational and recreational services.

Please take care, stay safe, and feel free to reach out to me through email at MikaMurray81@gmail.com and visit my website MikaMurray.com.

Sincerely,

Tamika M. Murray

About the Book

The struggle is real, but the help is sincere for adolescent students In Crying, Learning, and Laughing: Why Students Visit the Teen Center. The author recounts the stressful, but the often fun position as a case manager in a Teen Center. Students’ daily interactions in a School-Based Youth Services Program add color to the murky topics of teen dating violence, child abuse, and mental health issues. The unexpected crises don’t hinder the adolescents’ high energy, but it brings insight for the curious reader. Interesting and helpful, Crying, Learning, and Laughing explore the often chaotic life of teens and how social workers in schools shine a light during dark times.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/Tamika-M-Murray/e/B08DFCCMWJ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

About the Author

Tamika M. Murray, better known as Mika, was born in the urban, seaside town of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mika is a certified social worker, owner of Celestial Publishing LLC, freelance writer and soon to be author. She graduated from Stockton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. Since then, her writing has appeared in over 50 online publications through ghostwriting. Mika’s helped over 200 children and adolescents during her career as an Adjunct English Instructor and Case Manager.
She plans to raise awareness about School-Based Youth Services Programs (Teen Centers) and why they are a necessity in all schools through the release of her book Crying, Learning, and Laughing: Why Students Visit the Teen Center, releasing on September 1, 2020.
She currently resides in Southern, New Jersey, with her boyfriend and three rambunctious kitties.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website Address: www.mikamurray.com
Twitter Address: https://twitter.com/CelestialScr81