Author Description

<p>Growing up being abused by her father, deemed unworthy of the love of her mother, ashamed of your upbringing, living in an environment that few survive, and no where to turn but within, The Mango Girl was determined her life wasn't going to end the way it began. From a very young age, Dr. Ava Eagle Brown learned the life lessons of perseverance and survival. In "The Mango Girl" is the courageous story of growing up in one of the poorest areas of Jamaica. Ava's determination and courage gave rise to her belief that she was destined for more than her community could offer. The expected and ingrained recreational activities of sex, raising babies and going to the farm were not enough for this young girl. She taught herself fortitude, enough to forge a very different path than the one expected of her. Ava's story starts in an area of high deprivation, even by rural Jamaica's standards, where the need to find food often won over school attendance. Her journey through her adolescent years was dominated by the dark shadows of incest, homelessness, violence and sexual abuse. Ava's life took an entirely different path when the event of being held and raped at gunpoint in front of her 3-year-old daughter finally pushed her to flee her home country to save her sanity. She describes it as being ejected from her OWN DNA. Resilience and love for her native country allowed Ava to see all her harsh and disappointing experiences as mere stepping stones to becoming a strong and self-reliant woman; a woman who is capable of helping our society to break the cycle of poverty and its effects. This book was written and Ava now lives a life of purpose and passion to impact lives, awaken individuals young and old, and cause shifts that create change for women and girls to live a more empowered life.</p>