"If This Pen Could Talk," organized by Denise Pitchford of the Leaders Follow Educational Foundation, brings together contributors from different generations to write about identity, motherhood, loss and healing. All proceeds from the book are being donated to first-generation college students, with the foundation partnering with the JazzyRae' Legacy Foundation to award funds to six students.

"Other people get our stories and tell it for us," Pitchford said. "Sometimes sharing our own stories gives someone else permission to tell theirs."

Pitchford said the idea was inspired by the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, which collected hundreds of inspirational real-life stories. She gathered about 60 women — lifelong friends, colleagues, family members and church acquaintances — and introduced the concept. Forty-nine of them ultimately contributed to the book's 10 chapters.

"Some of them wrote through tears and fear," Pitchford said. "Some wrote anonymously and some wrote through hesitation."

Community members met contributing authors and had books signed at ThriveOn King, 2153 N. Martin Luther King Drive.

Shelon Wade, 54, a friend of Pitchford's, wrote a section titled "First Name Mama, Last Name Grace" about her experience as a teen mother raising four children.

"I wanted to give God credit," Wade said. "It's not easy and I'm not perfect, but the grace of God makes a difference."

Wade said writing the piece brought back difficult memories and feelings of insecurity.

"Many don't know my story because I don't really talk about that as much," she said. "I discovered a little piece of my heart that did not forget the things that people said about me. I didn't forget feeling ostracized, feeling ashamed and I didn't forget that I wanted to be a perfect mom."

Wade, who was a strong student but did not attend college herself, said she hopes her story encourages the scholarship recipients and other young people.

"Just because you didn't get it doesn't mean you can't encourage the ones that you're raising," she said.

Zoey Calvin, 19, is the youngest contributor. Her section, "Emergency Contact," describes the challenges she and her two younger siblings faced in the foster care system, including living in group homes and being abandoned at 14.

"I never had an emergency contact or someone's name to put down when applying for something or when I want a job," said Calvin, a neuroscience and psychology major at Marquette University. "God was my emergency contact all along and all I needed was to call on him."

Calvin said she wants Black women who read her story to understand the resilience it took to persevere.

"In the foster care system, it's hard to connect and relate to other people because they don't understand what it feels like," she said. "I'm turning my story into purpose, and it's not something I'm afraid of."

Dina Abercrombie, 58, a first-generation college student, wrote essays about what it means to be a good friend and about the different stages of healing.

"I always wanted to write, but I felt intimidated," Abercrombie said. She said she initially found the project challenging because it required vulnerability but later felt proud to have taken part.

"I also wanted to encourage women that healing is a journey that isn't going to happen overnight," she said.

Abercrombie said Black women have endured cycles of racism, sexism and classism while still achieving success.

"There's so many that have come before you, that have been there and done that and I hope that the women of our younger generations don't have it as hard as we did," she said. "Whatever they endure and overcome is because they stand on the shoulders of women that absolutely have."

Pitchford said each story resonated with her differently, and she agreed with contributors that Black women of different generations often live through similar experiences.

"We all have the same experiences, we're just viewing them from different lenses," she said. "I feel like what has changed the most is the freedom that women get to be themselves."

Wade credited Pitchford with pushing the contributors to share.

"If Denise hadn't provoked or pushed a button, we don't even know if some of these stories would have been heard," Wade said.

"If This Pen Could Talk" is available on Amazon. Proceeds support first-generation students through the Leaders Follow Educational Foundation, which connects them with mentors, leadership development and other resources throughout their college careers.

"The first year is always the roughest," Pitchford said.