Connie Lingus

Yes. I was six years old when I read The Berenstain's B Book. You know, the one with the huge pink letter "B" on the front cover with a picture of the Cat in the Hat in the upper right corner. I loved this book so much that every time I rode my bicycle I'd recite "big brown bear blue bull beautiful baboon blowing bubbles biking backwards". I never recited the part that came next, "bump" and "BAM" because there was no way I was going to allow myself to lose control! I had already experienced enough childhood trauma that was beyond my control and vowed to never allow those things to happen to me again. Somehow, some way, all of the negative childhood experiences managed to unlock my internal creativity. In any case, this book and others like it are expressions of my inner child's various coping mechanisms; moreover, a significant aspect of my healing process.

Growing up, I had a very exotic look. People would always assume that I was mixed with Indian or some other race. Since I was a free-spirit and guys were intrigued by my looks, all the extra attention I received caused people to label me as promiscuous. When in reality, I was only just a tomboy. This inspired me to write a series chronicling my various experiences as a person everyone seemed to love to hate.