Author Description

All my life, I have been intrigued, amazed, fascinated, and stunned by the wisdom, strength, and tenacity of mature women. Their lives and experiences span the gamut of obstacles, triumphs, successes, and "ups and downs." In the words of Maya Angelou, "you may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, you may tread me in the very dirt, but still, I'll rise." Mother Lucille D. Shazier's life epitomizes, exemplifies, and summarizes this profound truth. For 107 years, life has taken her in crevices and places where "there ain't been no light." Through smiles and tears, she says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up." Langston Hughes. Through it all, she NEVER allowed bitterness, hate, and defeat to define her. She never knew her birth mother and never knew what happened to her oldest sister. Pandemics are not new to her; she remembers the Spanish Flu, cited as the most devastating pandemic in the world's history. She was seven years old when the U.S. Government legalized the women's suffrage movement. African American women were not invited or included. To combat societal ills, injustices, poverty, racism, and death, Mother Shazier developed a deep and abiding relationship with God. Her relationship with the Lord has been her thermometer and guiding light for 107 years. Her final declaration..."I WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT.