Don T Be A Dumb Bitch Your Entire Life

You've subscribed to her blogs on Byayanaellis.com, you've read the articles in Don Diva Magazine's Diva Corner, now prepare yourself to be thoroughly entertained by Ayana Ellis' sixth novel, Don't Be a Dumb Bitch, a combination of her truths, advice, and opinions on love, life, sex, friends and situation-ships. Don't Be a Dumb Bitch is raw, colorful, witty, and an enlightening piece for women and even some men. It can best be described as a conversation amongst friends or advice from your out spoken home girl, whose only mission is for you to not be a dumb bitch! In an oversexed society of misogyny and disrespect, Don't Be a Dumb Bitch is the perfect guide for women of all ages on how to move in a world full of vultures. Readers are sure to feel powerful and renewed after absorbing the many gems on life, love, and positive advice within this book. You haven't read a self-help book quite like this. Be Great!

Have you ever been head over heels for someone, only to find out you're the only one head over heels? This book not only details my story, but it's meant to help you through yours.

Don't Be A Dumb Bitch Your Whole Life, is a short story on a past situation that had me reevaluating who I was. This book is to not only make light of the situation but to hopefully bring awareness to women currently going through what I went through.

Don't Be A Dumb Bitch is raw unfiltered content straight from the "Original Street Bible" Don Diva Magazine's, Diva Corner column, where Ayana Ellis serves as the Deputy Editor . In Ellis' sixth book, she provides unfiltered commentary on love and dating for the ladies...and some of the men too! This book is filled with gems and advice that anyone of all ages can use for years to come. Originally released in 2015

What are you supposed to do when you are caught in a life you never expected to have? What do you do when you have your heart ripped out of your chest and shoved up your ass? How do you breathe? How do you move on with a smile? How do you find the strength to keep going? Welcome to the mind of a planner whose planned life went up in smoke at thirty-fivedivorced, with two kids, and no job. Welcome to me. I have taken in a lot of pain, have dished out a lot of curse words, and have found the strength each day to survive at least the twenty-four hours immediately before me. No more planning. No more sunshine blowing. I am trying not to let myself be my worst enemy and usually failing at an epic scale. But tomorrow will be another day . . .

This Ain't Over Chapter 1 I held Tori's bloody body close as she took her last breath. I was supposed to protect her. I am Spencer McNeel, and no one ever hurts what's mine. I shut my eyes tightly and in my mind replayed her final moments. We'd been living in Columbia for several months. Tori had been cut off from her friends and family. When I got home late and found Tori waiting for me in the office, I figured she was upset and homesick. Hey, baby, what's wrong? I said as I approached her. Was it you? she asked. What? Grey did you kill Grey? You need some sleep. Come to bed, and in the morning you'll forget this shit and save me the trouble of getting mad. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me. Look me in the eye and tell me. Just say it; just tell me you had nothing to do with Grey being shot. Tell me and I'll believe you. I'm begging you. Tori, I don't answer to anyone not you or anyone else. Now, I'm warning you, drop this shit and go to bed! Spare me the bullshit and tell me! Did you kill Grey?" Tori was screaming at the top of her lungs, and I was enraged. It all made sense to her now. She could put together the pieces: the phone call from me saying that everything would be the way it should be; the gun I planted that she knew couldn't have belonged to Grey; the lack of urgency the police had in solving his murder. I could see the wheels turning as she put it all together and saw me for the man I am. She continued watching me for an answer to confirm what she finally had figured out. As the argument escalated, I knew there was no need to deny that I was responsible for killing her fiancé so I could have her for myself. You want to know, huh? I try to protect you, and all I get from you is questions! Hell yeah, I killed him. I rolled up beside him, opened his door, and looked him right in the eye before I pulled the trigger. I reenacted the scene. He was nothing, and I did you a favor by saving you from making that mistake. You should be thanking me. You killed an innocent man, just for loving me, Tori said. Just for giving me something that you couldn't. He was the one who kept me safe; he was the one who would always be there, and you killed him. She backed away from me, but I knew there was nowhere for her to go. I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can say to stop me, she said. I played this game for far too long, and I cost a wonderful person his life. There ain't going to be much more of this bullshit about you loving that motherfucker and all that. Now get out of my face and carry your ass to bed before this turns ugly. Oh, it's already ugly. Fuck you! I'm getting my shit and getting as far away from you as a plane can carry me! Tori, you can't leave, I said with absolute confidence. I knew I'd be able to talk her out of this nonsense. She was mine, all mine. That motherfucker was in the way. He had to die. What can I say? You can't stop me! she yelled again. Tori, even if I would allow you to leave, even if I would allow that to happen you wouldn't be safe, and neither would I. My life and the lives of my family are resting in your hands, and I can't allow that. Fuck you. Good-bye, she said and turned her back to me. I had no patience left. You made a choice! You chose to stay. This discussion is over. I chose to stay because I thought I could trust you. She kept walking toward the door. I never cocked the gun I drew on her, but I heard one load behind me. You'd kill me? she asked as tears ran down her face. There's one way out, Tori. Don't make me do this. Forget Grey. I love you; I'll make it up to you. Can't you see I did all of this just so I could be with you? No one ever loved you like I do. Crack! One shot pierced the air. Tori's blood splattered over the desk behind her. I leap forward and caught her in my arms before she began to fall. I held her tightly to my chest and looked into her eyes. I stumbled as she went limp in my arms. I knew Chad was there, but I never thought he'd pull the

ALL DAY is a behind-the-bars, personal glimpse into the issue of mass incarceration via an unpredictable, insightful and ultimately hopeful reflection on teaching teens while they await sentencing. Told with equal parts raw honesty and unbridled compassion, ALL DAY recounts a year in Liza Jessie Peterson's classroom at Island Academy, the high school for inmates detained at New York City's Rikers Island. A poet and actress who had done occasional workshops at the correctional facility, Peterson was ill-prepared for a full-time stint teaching in the GED program for the incarcerated youths. For the first time faced with full days teaching the rambunctious, hyper, and fragile adolescent inmates, "Ms. P" comes to understand the essence of her predominantly Black and Latino students as she attempts not only to educate them, but to instill them with a sense of self-worth long stripped from their lives. "I have quite a spirited group of drama kings, court jesters, flyboy gangsters, tricksters, and wannabe pimps all in my charge, all up in my face, to educate," Peterson discovers. "Corralling this motley crew of bad-news bears to do any lesson is like running boot camp for hyperactive gremlins. I have to be consistent, alert, firm, witty, fearless, and demanding, and most important, I have to have strong command of the subject I'm teaching." Discipline is always a challenge, with the students spouting street-infused backtalk and often bouncing off the walls with pent-up testosterone. Peterson learns quickly that she must keep the upper hand-set the rules and enforce them with rigor, even when her sympathetic heart starts to waver. Despite their relentless bravura and antics-and in part because of it-Peterson becomes a fierce advocate for her students. She works to instill the young men, mostly black, with a sense of pride about their history and culture: from their African roots to Langston Hughes and Malcolm X. She encourages them to explore and express their true feelings by writing their own poems and essays. When the boys push her buttons (on an almost daily basis) she pushes back, demanding that they meet not only her expectations or the standards of the curriculum, but set expectations for themselves-something most of them have never before been asked to do. She witnesses some amazing successes as some of the boys come into their own under her tutelage. Peterson vividly captures the prison milieu and the exuberance of the kids who have been handed a raw deal by society and have become lost within the system. Her time in the classroom teaches her something, too-that these boys want to be rescued. They want normalcy and love and opportunity.

A Major Hurdle is about the challenges that deals with a second chance at love which is overshadowed by mysterious circumstances that threatens to destroy Catherine Adams and the new love she has found with Philip Cagney. Only their faith in God will help them to withstand the difficulties and overcome.