Born to Rise by Lorna Blake
It’s fitting that Lorna Blake, at the very beginning of her memoir, Born to Rise, tells a story about her mother as a little girl. Young Ethlyn was only 8 years old at the time, the ninth of ten children born to a poor coffee and cocoa farmer.
Ethlyn’s much older brother had brought home some beans and instructed Ethlyn to cook them for dinner. “These beans are no good. They are poisoned,” declared Ethlyn. The brother wasn’t convinced, but she said go feed them to the pigs and see what happens. Sure enough, within minutes, the pigs were spinning, dancing and falling. The wisdom of young Ethlyn spared the entire family.
Lorna’s mom “knew things” — she had the ability to predict future outcomes. At the time, of course, Lorna was not even a thought, so who’s to say whether Ethlyn would have been able to see the path her daughter would take years later?
What she might have seen was a life in which Lorna rose up from adversity, and her life-long love of learning and personal leadership qualities led to a career as an inspiring motivational speaker and coach who empowers people to move beyond their current situation and experience their dreams in every area of their lives.
This is the story of the author’s life, told in all its color and passion. As Lorna says, she was born to rise — beyond her upbringing by a poor teenage mother in rural Jamaica and through a life of poverty, abandonment and abuse. She somehow defied the odds and made a life for herself, all the while remembering the wisdom of her mother.
An Inspirational Tale With Lessons That Speak for Themselves
In Born to Rise, Blake tells her story in a straightforward manner, providing a chronicle of her life without pity, bravado or judgment. It’s almost as if she is saying look what happened to me, I was able to overcome it. Readers will meet her family members, the good influencers and bad ones, share her many anecdotes, marvel in her life events and take energy from the hope it provides for all people, regardless of the cards they were dealt. She sprinkles her book with valuable testimonials and lessons learned.
It’s natural for Blake to reflect on her journey from living in one-room shacks in dangerous neighborhoods, walking miles just to get to school, coming home hungry and with no food to eat, feeling loneliness, despair and rejection. She makes the transition to a place of empowerment and success, to a position to help others. She works with a diverse group of people — often successful in their walks of life but not so much so in their personal stations.
The secret, Blake writes, is not to get caught up in “a backpack or suitcase full of shame and guilt for who we are, where we’ve come from, and what we’ve experienced.”
Ultimately, her mother’s vision for her became a reality, most miraculously.
“Do you believe miracles, prosperity and abundance are your birthright? If it can happen for a little girl from rural Jamaica where the odds seemed stacked against her from the beginning, it’s there for you too.”
Read Born to Rise for an inspirational story full of promise and hope for anyone willing to look at themselves, not wallow in misfortune and be willing to change for the better.
Born to a poor teenage mother in rural Jamaica, Lorna Blake experienced poverty, abandonment and abuse. She boarded a plane to Canada on her own as a teenager with no guarantee of a visa, eventually gaining citizenship. Lorna defied the odds, overcoming poverty to graduate from university with an honors degree in social work while becoming the mother of two young children. Her passion for learning and helping people transform their lives has led her to work in five different countries, where she’s taught and inspired thousands globally. Finally confronting being a fatherless daughter after more than 50 years, Lorna’s heart-wrenching story is captured in the book No More Chains 2. Lorna’s captivating story was also featured in the film/documentary of the same name. Visit http://mpowerurself.com.
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