Fabulous Southern Belle is honored to feature the Fantabulous, Benilde Little, in the Sweet Tea Chat! Not only is this woman beautiful, she’s super talented. Benilde’s debut novel, Good Hair, was selected as one of the ten best books of 1996 by the Los Angeles Times. Her subsequent novels, The Itch, Acting Out, and Who Does She Think She Is, were all reader favorites. In her latest work, Welcome to My Breakdown: A Memoir, Benilde has penned a moving account of her journey caring for aging parents, raising children, being married, plunging to the depths of depression, and climbing her way out.
This Southern girl is pleased as peach to share a tall glass of sweet tea with Benilde while we chat. So without further ado, let the fabulousness begin…Southern style.
- The thing I find most interesting about the South is…
- That the people are, for the most part, so friendly and will tell the most surprising things—oftentimes–intimate things. I love that! I liked being greeted with a good morning, hello, whatever—acknowledged. We don’t do that up here and it’s a nice thing.
- How did I ever live without…
- My dog—he keeps me grounded and in touch with non-verbal communication. He helps me appreciate other living beings, not just humans.Dogs are so great, because they keep things real and simple. He also forces me to get out and walk in the park everyday no matter the weather.
- My idea of a great vacation is…
- A deserted beach, warm water in which to swim, some great novels, waiters to bring me food and drinks
- If I were a superhero my power would be…
- My body would be strong, flexible and pain-free
- My favorite beauty product is…
- concealer (under the eyes)—rarely leave home without it!
- Fried chicken or baked…
- There’s nothing like some good friend chicken—but I rarely eat it. If I didn’t have to worry about my cholesterol (and my weight), I would be a fryin’ chicken eatin’ somebody.
- I never leave the house without…
- Sunglasses
- The most challenging thing about writing is…
- Let’s see, everything. I guess the hardest part is having really free time, meaning clear headspace where I don’t have to think about anything or anybody else other than what I’m working on. I’m a mom and a wife, and I’m responsible for my 90-year-old father who has dementia, so obviously those completely free moments don’t present themselves often. I just get in what I can, before my teenage son comes home from school.
- I wrote, WTMB, because…
- I was lost and then I lost my mother. My mother and I were extremely close. She was my mirror, my wisdom, my fiercest supporter, my confidante. We loved each other deeply and even before she died, I’d lost something else precious; my ability to write. I was in a mid-life malaise that I couldn’t seem to shake. I was on the precipice of despair and then she died and I fell off a cliff into a pit of sadness. Writing the book was a way to help other people who have suffered with clinical depression, sadness or just a feeling they can’t figure out but know that their life should be better.
- After readers turn the last page I hope they…
- Will want to remove the mask, to embrace all of who they are, warts and all, to get real. What I’ve learned on my journey, I want to share. I know that being real ain’t pretty, but real is what gets you through the night.
Benilde, thanks again for stopping by and hanging out below the Mason Dixon line with me! I’m so very happy for you and I know your new book will touch and bless many lives!
Click here to order your copy of Welcome to My Breakdown, and don’t forget to spread the word to your family and friends!
You can learn more about Benilde, her life and her work through the following sites;benildelittle@wordpress.com; @BenildeLittle ; instagram is Blittlevirgin
www.benilde-little.com, Benilde Little Fan page
As always, thanks for reading! Until next time, be fabulous!
Trice Hickman